Europe: Belgium authorities made the decision to switch off motorway lights earlier this September month. The Walloon Minister of Energy and Infrastructure -Philippe Henry, announced on Friday that the measure could be implemented gradually from September 19 to 21.
This step is taken place after the approval of the motorway operator.
The impact of the measure is on about 20,000 out of a total of almost 25,000 lights on the Walloon motorways.
Moreover, the switch off of the lights applies on the main parts of the motorways between 10:00 pm as well as 5:00 am. Intersections, such as motorway exits, which may present an increased risk of accidents, will still be illuminated.
The lights in these sections have already been modernised with the installation of a smart system whereby brightness is decreased by 50 percent from 10 pm to midnight. When a vehicle passes, the brightness rises to 70 percent. From midnight to 6 am, brightness is further reduced to 30 percent as well as rises again to 50 percent when a vehicle enters the sections.
Along with this, the lights can be turned on at any time for a given road section if needed, for example, in the event of extreme weather conditions or an accident.
As per the information, switching off the lights of the Walloon motorways will reduce electricity consumption by about 2,670 MWh per year, which means, at current prices, represents a saving of 400,000 euros.
On the other hand, the energy crisis in the United Kingdom demands more action from the country.
Furthermore, the authority of the United Kingdom will freeze the price of energy for about two years, keeping typical household bills around £1,000 lower than they would otherwise have been this autumn, as well as compensate energy companies directly for the shortfall in revenue.
