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

  • Future traffic management needs new thinking, new technology
    January 23, 2012
    One of the biggest problems facing US ITS professionals, says Georgia DOT's Hugh Colton, is the constrained thinking which is sometimes forced upon those making procurement decisions. It is time, he says, to look again at how we do things. In the November/December 2010 edition of this journal, Pete Goldin interviewed Joseph Sussman, chairman of the US's ITS Program Advisory Committee. Amongst other observations that Sussman made was that, technologically, ITS in the US is 10 years behind that in the world-l
  • Cost benefit: Wichita eases workzone congestion
    July 8, 2019
    Achieving higher diversion rates has helped one Kansas city to make traffic flow more efficient around workzones. David Crawford examines what’s behind a 10:1 benefit-to-cost ratio in Wichita Around 10% of highway congestion in the US results from delays in workzones, leading to an estimated annual loss of $700 million in fuel costs alone. The lack of accessible real-time traffic information to help motorists minimise their inconvenience – particularly at peak times - is a major contributor. One solut
  • Electric buses can ‘save millions’ for society and the environment
    September 29, 2015
    A city with half a million inhabitants would save about US$11.8 million per year if its buses ran on electricity instead of diesel, according to analysis conducted the Volvo Group and audit and advisory firm KPMG. The analysis has taken into consideration such factors as noise, travel time, emissions, energy use, taxes and the use of natural resources. The analysis was based on a city with about half a million inhabitants and 400 buses. If the buses were run on electricity instead of diesel, the total an
  • Insight into China's smart cities initiatives
    April 25, 2013
    Schneider Electric, which has been playing an active role in smart transportation systems in China since 1990, provides an insight into smart city initiatives in the country. Today, most cities across the world are facing unprecedented growth, which questions the viability of the current development model. They are immersed in a competition with each other, both domestically and internationally, in terms of investments, jobs and talents. Cities need to become more attractive and intelligent by becoming more