Leader in renewable energy in Brazil, ENGIE has concluded the modernization of street lighting in the city of Uberlândia, generating a reduction of more than 50% in the municipality’s energy bill and estimated at more than R$ 1 million monthly – more than the cost of operations and upkeep of the project for the municipal authority. In other words, the city has modernized its public lighting network and ensured significant improvements for the population and the environment without increasing sector expenditures.
Since it took over the concession in 2020, ENGIE has undertaken over 93.5 thousand interventions, including the replacement of 82 thousand lighting fixtures and the maintenance and operation of more than 90 thousand light points. Overall, more than R$ 82 million have been invested in the modernization of the city’s network. The resources were used to replace conventional lighting for fixtures using LED technology, network expansion and luminous flux improvements.
“In addition to a series of benefits such as gains in safety, efficiency and sustainability, this combination of actions resulted in signficant savings for the municipality”, says Solutions for Cities director at ENGIE Soluções, Marcus Cunha. “Uberlândia’s population now enjoys better quality lighting, guaranteed operations for the next 18 years and round the clock maintenance services” he concludes.
An important point to emphasize is levels of satisfaction reached among Uberlândia’s ciitizens in surveys conducted every quarter by an independent institution: 87% when evaluating public lighting in their own neighborhood and 89% in the case of the main metropolitan thoroughfares.
In addition, ENGIE has expanded the public lighting network with the execution of 107 inteventions in city squares, parks, roads and avenues such as Parque Linear Córrego do Lagoinha, the sidework on Rua Luzia Narciza de Jesus, as well as Recanto do Sossego Square and the entire perimeter of the Parque do Sabiá Complex, all of them previously without lighting but now provided with full infrastructure.
Uberlândia’s PPP agreement has a duration of 20 years and includes a series of additional benefits to be introduced by the concessionaire such as for example, the remote control of lighting along the city’s principal thoroughfares (remote management), the floodlighting of 12 historic spaces, the annual expansion of approximately 550 light fixtures and improvements in the lighting of points of access, among others.
“We want to work to promote the development of more human, efficient and sustainable and smarter cities, aligned with the Group’s global strategy to be a leader in energy transition to a low carbon economy. The project brings several benefits with it such as the promotion of tourism and local economic activity, greater safety and a better quality of life for the population of Uberlândia”, says Cunha.
ENGIE develops technological solutions to make city spaces smarter and more energy efficient. Currently, the company operates more than 1 million lighting points in the world, 130 thousand of those in Brazil – of which 90 thousand in Uberlândia (MG) and 40 thousand in Petrolina (PE).
New concession – ENGIE is preparing to begin operations in the city of Curitiba (PR). The company won the street lighting auction for the Paraná state capital in September of 2022, proposing a monthly tariff of R$ 1.1 million at a discount of 71% in relation to the reference price in the invitation for bids.
The concession agreement has a duration of 23 years and involves the modernization, operation, maintenance as well as the expansion of the city’s street lighting infrastructure, currently comprising 160 lighting points.
The investment includes the implementation of LED technology, the installation of an operations control center and the execution of a series of interventions for floodlighting monuments. The new lighting will guarantee a reduction in energy consumed for street lighting of at least 50% in the municipality.