Belluno, from tomorrow lights off in the two galleries

The maneuver to reduce electricity costs. Councilor Gamba: “In 12 months we plan to save 100 thousand euros”

BELLUNO. The decision already announced a few days ago by the De Pellegrin council will come into force tomorrow, Thursday 18 August, to also turn off the lights inside the two galleries in the Lambioi area. When the 6,400 light points in the city were switched off every day from 2.30 to 5 am, the decision to make the measurement total immediately was added during the approval phase, suspending the lighting for all day and all night. in the two tunnels, Belluno and Maraga. Appropriate signs have been placed at their entrance to inform motorists.

«A necessary measure – reiterates the deputy mayor and councilor for the budget Paolo Gamba -, the two tunnels are short and will not remain totally in the dark. With this cut, we expect a saving of around € 100,000 over the 12 months. In short, only fixed costs will remain ». There could be more money that Palazzo Rosso will save from the operation if in the autumn months, as it seems, energy costs were to increase further. All the more reason the mayor’s team has decided not to waste time and to immediately implement all the useful actions to raise the public coffers from a part of the current expenditure.

«So far the expected increase is 68% – continues Gamba -, equal to 810 thousand euros more in electricity and 350 thousand in gas. In essence, the bills, right now, take away 10% of the budget. Turning off the lights for two and a half hours at night and 24 hours a day in the galleries allows us to be able to bear the costs by drawing on the budget change approved at the last City Council; if we did not implement this measure, we would not have the money to cover the costs and the 800,000 surplus would not be enough to pay the bills. If the energy will undergo a further surge in the autumn we will implement other measures, we will not hold back in making decisions and we will not waste time ».

“None of us like to leave the city in the dark for a few hours at night – concludes the mayor Osar De Pellegrin -, if we could choose we would certainly have avoided, but we are convinced it is better to endure this discomfort now rather than seeing services cut in the future,” when there may not be the financial coverage to carry them forward. I informed the police of these measures, asking for particular attention and some extra checks at night ».