Toulouse. A time aside, why will the extinction of public lighting finally take place?
By Quentin Marais
Published on
updated on 17 Oct 22 at 14:26
25 measurements were taken and revealed by Jean-Luc Moudenc, the mayor of Toulouse, to overcome the energy crisis and face the next winter. And among the decisions announced on Thursday, October 13, 2022 in the heart of the Négreneys district, is that of carrying out a public lighting switch off. Who was, for a time, dismissed.
The question throughout the Haute-Garonne
End of September 2022, more than 40 municipalities in Haute-Garonne were looking very closely at this alternative. Pibrac, Mondonville, Seilh, Aussonne, or Boulogne-sur-Gesse, to name a few, have conducted studies. In Melles and Sauveterre-de-Comminges, an order was even taken and transmitted at the Departmental Syndicate of Energy of Haute-Garonne (SDEHG). Tests in Saint-Alban, extinguishings in Colomiers between 1 hour and 5:30 a.m. since 2017, extensive experimentation in Blagnac… in short, the question to be answered the whole department.
Toulouse, first an exception…
But in Toulouse, the deal was different. Jean-Baptiste de Scorraille, deputy mayor in charge, in particular, of public lighting, reminded Toulouse News “that two systems are in place”.
“We are in the process of converting all the streetlights in the city to LED, which will represent 70,000 devices at the end of the mandate and 50% energy savings. And we estimate that we will be able to save 80% again on this 50% by continuing our policy of installing candelabras which light up automatically as soon as they detect the passage of people.
However, the elected official did not rule out the possibility that all public lighting would be switched off in Toulouse this winter, ” if the State or EDF came to ask us“.
Response and adaptation
Two weeks later, Jean-Luc Moudenc therefore announced turning off public lights, except in the inner city and in busy places outside the city center, between midnight and 5 am. The measurement will come into force on October 30i.e. the date of transition to winter time.
“Over the past few weeks, there have been government announcements and recommendations from the AMF (Association of Mayors of France). The first is a switching off the lighting from 11:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. As we are in a big city, we shift by one hour (midnight to 5 am). The second is on smart lighting, specifies the town hall of Toulouse.
“In Toulouse, we are efficient in smart lighting, but not enough to avoid switching off. We did what was necessary and we are on the right track since the recommendations go in this direction. But there, there is an emergency. We will develop, in the coming days, a precise plan of the exceptions of extinction compared to the hyper center and to the passing places.
There is, therefore, no contradiction or change of course compared to the previous announcements made by Jean-Baptiste de Scorraille. “It’s just that in the meantime, there have been government announcements and recommendations. So we evolve, we move forward, and we react“, ended the town hall.
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