RTL Today - Energy savings: Why switching off street lighting is not so simple

Seeing as the government is urging the population to save energy, many residents are perplexed as to why numerous secondary schools, car parks, and access roads remain "fully lit" at night.

In a parliamentary question addressed to Minister for Energy Claude Turmes, MP Gilles Roth from the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) brought up the issue of public lighting in the municipality of Mamer, where Roth also serves as mayor. He specifically cites the case of the "Tossebierg" school campus, which includes the Lycée Josy Barthel and the second European School.

According to Roth, the two schools and their surroundings (car park, bicycle path, access road, public transport stop) are "fully illuminated both in the evening and at night." The CSV MP argues that this would go against the energy saving campaign launched by the government in September. Roth therefore sought clarification from the responsible minister, Claude Turmes.

In his reply, the Minister confirmed that the country's municipalities had been asked to "step up their energy saving efforts" and that the focus has been on public lighting. However, it turns out that it is not that simple in practice.

A complicated task

In fact, in order to switch off public street lighting between 1am and 5am, municipalities have to submit a request to the ministry. A government circular on this matter was sent to municipalities on 6 October. This letter resulted in 19 requests (out of 102 municipalities), 15 of which were approved. A "considerable success" in the eyes of the Minister. Nevertheless, Turmes explained that the technical processes required to switch off public lighting "are often complex." The Minister stated that the installations concerned often have to undergo "transformations." In particular, they must be equipped with "smart metres" and triggering devices that allow them to be reactivated at a specific time.

And it doesn't stop there, since the Luxembourgish government's powers in the area of public lighting "are restricted by communal autonomy." In practise, this means that implementing energy-saving measures can be difficult if a municipality does not take the initiative. Inter-municipal consultation may even be required in some municipalities.

Finally, the progress of work to switch off public lighting also depends on the Bridges and Roads Authority and "the network operators of the municipalities concerned," Turmes stressed.

Mamer leads by example, Bertrange lags behind

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In the case of the municipality of Mamer and the Tossebierg campus, the Minister said that Mamer was the first municipality in the country to submit a request to switch off public lighting and to implement it. "This is not the case in adjacent municipalities," Turmes added.

Anticipating questions on the matter, he pointed out that the lights could not be switched off around "dangerous areas" such as tunnels and motorway interchanges.

As far as the school campus is concerned, Turmes said that the lighting of the Lycée Josy Barthel and its direct surroundings has already been reduced "to the strict minimum, respecting the preventative and safety guidelines."

As far as the European School is concerned, the Minister explains that a fortnight ago, the decision was made to switch off the outside lighting between 11pm and 6am.

Only the access road on the territory of the municipality of Bertrange is still lit, as no request has been made by its municipal authorities to switch off the lighting.