Benidorm has reduced its electricity bill and consumption in recent years by more than 1.2 million euros

Benidorm City Council has reduced the electricity bill in recent years by more than 1.2 million euros, while consumption has dropped by 1.8 million kilowatt hours. This is what the Councilor for Public Space, José Ramón González de Zárate, has said today, coinciding with World Energy Saving Day, in which he recalled that “100% of the electrical energy consumed by the City Council in public lighting and buildings and municipal facilities are of renewable origin ”.

According to the data provided by De Zárate, in a few years consumption has dropped from 12,774,978 kilowatt hours to 10,920,539, thanks to "constant actions to improve energy efficiency." In the same period, the City Council's expenditure on electricity has gone from 3,001,663.05 euros to 1,754,940.45 euros, which represents a reduction of the bill of 41.53%.

This reduction in the bill has contributed "the reduction in consumption and also the reduction in the cost we pay per kilowatt." In reference to this issue, the councillor has applauded "the work of the municipal technicians", and has influenced the advantages obtained by the City Council by joining the Central Hiring of the Provincial Council of Alicante. This membership was renewed last September and thanks to it, Iberdrola has achieved a price reduction that ranges from 8% to 16% depending on the type of rate and the time period.

The councillor has indicated that "the 2020 budget for energy expenditure was 1,850,000 euros." However, “the technicians estimate that we are going to close the year with savings of 114,103.88 euros; money that, as in previous years, we are going to reinvest in actions that increase energy efficiency and, therefore, allow us to continue saving ”.

Specifically, the savings will be used for three actions. The first, valued at 37,461.88 euros, corresponds to the renovation works of public lighting installations and supply and installations of photovoltaic lights on rural roads. These lampposts, which will reach the paths of the Huerta that require a reinforcement of lighting, are also equipped with surveillance cameras "to avoid spillage in rural areas."

The second action, for an amount of 13,951 euros, consists of the drafting of the Action Plan for Climate and Sustainable Energy (PACES), “since the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) has already been passed” and that it will be ready by the end of the year. De Zárate has stressed that "having the PACES," a document that very few city councils have, will allow us to apply for more European subsidies to continue improving sustainability.

The last of the actions, which amounts to 62,727 euros, is the contracting of Engineering services for the drafting of projects for the execution of photovoltaic installations for self-consumption in municipal buildings. At this point, the mayor recalled that "the City Council has obtained from the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), dependent on the Ministry of Ecological Transition, a grant of 520,270.58 euros from European funds to install photovoltaic panels in 13 public buildings, which "by the end of 2021 will practically be self-sufficient with electricity." The installation of these plates, for which the City Council will contribute the same amount as the IDEA, "will result in savings in the energy bill of 200,000 euros."

Included in this project are CEIP Ausiàs March, Bautista Lledó, La Cala, Mestre Gaspar López, Miguel Hérnandez, Sierra Helada, Vasco Núñez de Balboa and Els Tolls; and Les Fontanelles Municipal Infant School; as well as La Torreta Social Center, the Palau d'Esports l’Illa –which multiplies the existing plates- and Wastewater Treatment Station (ETAP).

In addition to this photovoltaic panels project, “the good management done in terms of energy saving and efficiency improvement has allowed us to obtain another IDEA grant of 3,007,289.28 euros also from European funds to improve energy efficiency more 50% of the lighting in Benidorm, reducing consumption and CO2 emissions ”. This project, which the City Council will complement with another 3 million euros and which will be completed in 2022, plans to act on 7,808 lights and 132 command centers, translating "into an economic saving of 700,000 euros."