According to Andrius Deimantas, director of municipal company Vilniaus Apsvietimas (Vilnius Lighting), lighting time is being reduced already and lighting intensity has been cut by 20 percent.
“People have not yet noticed that as we don’t get any calls. Hence we are reducing the intensity [of lighting] and the lighting time, and in particular cutting lighting in tunnels… We have dimmed the lights. Visually, it looks the same [as before] and that lighting is sufficient,” he told members of Vilnius Municipal Council last week.
Other measures included the switching-off of lighting at children’s playgrounds at 10 p.m., at dog parks during the nighttime, and at certain stadiums, in coordination with educational establishments, Deimantas said.
He added that, in view of growing prices for electricity, Vilniaus Apsvietimas had worked out three plans, ranging from the mildest to the most severe one and outlining measures to save electricity and fit the available budget.
Deimantas assured that, thanks to the modernization of a significant share of street lighting, the capital would not get back to 2017–2018 when it had to switch off one in two or one in three street lights.
Vilnius local authority has said that annual expenditure on lighting will increase by 4 million euros due to a surge in electricity prices from August but the measures worked out by Vilniaus Apsvietimas will allow saving approximately 1 million euros.