Skip to main content

Portuguese toll operator cuts energy costs

Portuguese motorway toll operator Brisa Auto Estradas de Portugal says it is saving over 10 per cent of its electricity costs – worth over US$430,000 – as a result of an energy efficiency plan which was launched in 2010. Electricity consumption accounts for 54 per cent of Brisa’s total energy expenditure, half of which is for the lighting systems of the motorway network.
April 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Portuguese motorway toll operator 2051 BRISA Auto Estradas de Portugal says it is saving over 10 per cent of its electricity costs – worth over US$430,000 – as a result of an energy efficiency plan which was launched in 2010.

Electricity consumption accounts for 54 per cent of Brisa’s total energy expenditure, half of which is for the lighting systems of the motorway network. The company adjusted the timings of the operation of these systems in line with the solar time cycle. In other cases, it has reduced the power of the lightning system from 400Watt to 250Watt and from 250Watt to 150Watt. In 2010 the savings achieved with these policies totalled 11,372 Gigajoules. All subsidiaries reduced the consumption of electricity and the cut on the energy was estimated at 10.9% across the group.

More recently, Brisa has been testing solar panels to power equipment installed along motorways such as SOS telephones, road signs, and cameras, while Brisa’s US subsidiary, Northwest Parkway in Colorado, has recently closed a deal for the installation of photovoltaic panels along 18 km of its motorways.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Portuguese toll expertise for US toll system
    October 12, 2015
    The Southern Connector Toll Road in South Carolina, US, has awarded a five-year contract to BIT Mobility Solutions, a subsidiary of Portuguese group Brisa, to implement anew back office system for improved effectiveness and efficiency in revenue collection and to minimise toll violations. The US$2 million contract involves integration of legacy components and supply of new subsystems and includes: integration services, digital cameras, vehicle classification system, lane controllers, licence plate recog
  • Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    July 26, 2012
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
  • Latest ITS technology upgrades India's toll systems
    November 13, 2012
    An ambitious programme of new and upgraded interoperable toll systems has been launched in India, featuring far-reaching technology developments. David Crawford reports. In April this year, Indian Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways CP Joshi inaugurated a new era of electronic toll collection (ETC) in India when he unveiled the country’s first RFID-based tolling installation. This was at a recently-completed plaza at Chandimandir, near the city of Panchkula in the northern state of Haryana. The sys
  • Sensor solutions cuts maintenance and emissions
    December 8, 2014
    The new raft of sensor technology can provide cost savings as well as additional functionality, as David Crawford discovers. Austria’s third-largest city, Linz, with a population of around 200,000, is recording substantial savings in its urban tram network within 18 months of introducing a new, high-technology approach to its public transport management. Tram, bus and trolleybus operator Linz Linien forms part of city utilities management company Linz AG, which has been carrying out a wide-ranging Smart Cit