In two working sessions in the same week, the Environment Fund Administration (AFM) approved, in mid-May, 342 projects of energy efficiency and smart energy management in public lighting infrastructure. The total value of funds made available to municipalities is close to EUR 40mln (about RON 200mln).

All counties are represented and Botoșani County has the largest number of projects approved (17), totaling about RON 9.5mln. The following positions, with 16 projects approved each, are held by Alba and Bacău counties, with total allocations of RON 11mln and RON 8.9mln respectively. Suceava has 15 projects approved, most of them worth around RON 500,000, with three exceptions: the localities of Arbore, Liteni and Vatra Dornei have obtained amounts close to the maximum ceiling, of RON 1mln.

The last places in terms of the number of projects accepted for financing by AFM are held by Giurgiu and Călărași counties, each with two projects, and Teleorman, Sibiu, Covasna and Bistrița-Nasăud counties, each with four projects.

Nine projects have obtained the maximum amounts – RON 1mln – i.e. around 80 – 9i90% of the eligible value of the project: Drajna and Sinaia (Prahova), Vorona (Botoșani), Ghimpați (Giurgiu), Brastavățu (Olt), Erbiceni (Iași), Liteni (Suceava), Ulmeni (Maramureș) and Podari (Dolj). Other 52 projects have received over RON 900,000 and some large municipalities are among them: Pitești, Baia Mare, Piatra-Neamț, Timișoara, Giurgiu, Cluj-Napoca, Alba Iulia. Among the municipalities that have obtained significant amounts for financing public lighting are tourist resorts (Sinaia, Bușteni, Mangalia, Moieciu), localities in full real estate development, such as Snagov, Buftea, 1 Decembrie, Balotești or Chitila, in Ilfov County, or economic centers relevant locally, such as Anina, Ineu, Fetești, Petricani, Filipeștii de Pădure, Cugir, Lupeni or Făgăraș.

All of them are applications for financing submitted during July – September 2020, most of them (281) being submitted in late July, immediately after the call for projects was launched.

In general, works can take around 12 months, especially for large-scale projects. Before actual execution, each financing project needs to be signed by AFM and the beneficiary, and then the municipality launches the tender for selecting the company that will make the technical design and the one that will execute the works.

Beyond direct financing, crucial for small and relatively poor administrative units, this type of financing can have an important role as a lever. A perfect example is a project through which Timişoara will modernize public lighting in three large neighborhoods of the city. Timișoara Municipality will change the whole lighting network in three large neighborhoods in the northern part of the city, by installing 531 new and efficient luminaires, under a contract worth RON 2mln. Of this amount, only half comes from the Environment Fund Administration.

27 projects will receive 70% or less than the necessary amounts, so that the amount of RON 16.7mln allocated by AFM could mean over RON 20mln in investments made.

For all the winning projects, the main objective is to obtain a smart, new, modern, unitary, cost-efficient and ecological public lighting system, which will significantly reduce electricity costs and reduce maintenance costs.

In the first quarter of 2021, electricity consumption for public lighting recorded a 11.9% decline compared to the corresponding period of 2020, in conditions in which household consumption increased by 9.6% and, overall, national consumption climbed by 0.5%, to 14,207.3 million kWh. The trends are a continuation of those noticed in 2020, when final energy consumption was 53,462.5 million kWh, by 3.3% lower than in 2019; public lighting recorded a 11.0% decline and household consumption increased by 5.1%. In 2019, final energy consumption was reduced compared to 2018 (55,298.9 million kWh), but public lighting recorded a 10.6% increase and household consumption surged by 21.9% y/y. Over the past five years, electricity consumption for public lighting fell by 13.5%, compared to a decline of only 2.5% of consumption at national level and a reduction by 5.3% in consumption in the economy. The difference is represented by the growing consumption at population level, by almost 8% in the last 5 years.

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This article first appeared in the printed edition of Energynomics Magazine, issued in June 2021.

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