Lighting in Prague: The city will pay 150 million more for lighting
“Before the rise in electricity prices, we spent about 150 million crowns a year on public lighting. We will increase these prices to 300 million. It is a really monstrous number, so the search for savings is undoubtedly in place, “said Jílek. He added that the company has taken over since the lighting four years ago, the modernization has achieved savings of 20 million crowns a year.
According to the director, THMP previously bought 70 percent of electricity at auctions and bought the rest on the spot market. That will now change and the company will buy all the electricity needed to run the network next year at auctions. “Only energy auctions in the summer months show what price is Prague to achieve“Added Jílek.
The company is trying to achieve saving of the modernization of the lamp, which according to the director and Chabr took over in 2018 in a poor condition. According to them, up to a third of the savings mean the replacement of sodium lamps with LED luminaires, which the THMP has so far recorded for about 6,500 of the total number of 136,970 poles in the metropolis. If the city continues to invest the current 300 million crowns a year in the lamp, according to Jílek, the modernization will be completed in 13 to 15 years.
Smart and economical
The company also in the followingtwo months on about 5,000 lamps will use the technology of so-called biodynamic lighting, which change lights according to the number of people on the streets. THMP has tested in six parks since last year’s technology, and is now planning a mass deployment. “We are curious how the people of Prague will accept it, because on such a huge scale we will be among the top in Europe,” said Jílek.
Chabr added that further savings There will be a reduction in the lighting of about 140 monuments, including the Rudolfinum, the Petrin lookout tower or historic bridges. The company turns on their lighting every day, gradually from the oldest to the youngest, and so far it has been switched on until 01:00. From June 1, the lights go out at 23:00, in winter at 22:00. According to Jílek, this will save the city about 1.6 million crowns a year.
THMP is also in charge of the plan to place solar power plants on the roofs of Prague, which are in their infancy. Now, according to Chabr, install the first three power plants on the roofs of smaller apartment buildings in Černý Most. According to him, they should cover 30 to 40 percent of apartment consumption. According to Jílek, the company plans to install another 25 power plants by the end of the year. “Next year it will be two power plants a week. We have a high ambition to bring this number closer to a thousand Prague roofs, which will be involved in the solar power plant, “he said.
THMP founded the city in 2017 through a transformation from its company TCP Vinohrady. Since 2018, he has been in charge of public lighting, and has taken over other technologies, such as a camera system and traffic lights. The company now has 245 employees, and by the end of the year, according to Jílek, there should be 300.