Good practice:

Energy efficient street lightning in Nicosia’s villages

The municipalities of Alonas and Polystipos in Cyprus decided to adopt a GPP practice to provide benefits for the environment in terms of decreased greenhouse emissions, improved energy efficiency and environmental protection. They assigned to the national energy agency to evaluate the current state in street lighting, and prepare the technical specifications for the tendering procedure. The Cyprus Energy Agency is a non-profit organisation that works with public administrations to provide technical advice on how to promote energy efficiency via GPP.
The result was a tender published in 2016 with the aim to cover the electricity requirements of the two municipalities. The contract was to replace 195 conventional street lighting bulbs (101 HPS/70W and 94CFL20/21W) with LED lighting technologies (43W and 10W). The total approximate cost was €100,000 while the contractor should undertake the maintenance and repair works for 10 years.
Market research was carried out prior to publishing the tender. The Energy Agency made discussions with potential suppliers and governmental authorities to evaluate tender’s feasibility. The tendering procedure was successful and the contract with the supplier was signed in August 2016. The replacement of existing luminaires with LED bulbs will result in a 44% reduction in electricity bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The total cost of the procurement was €93,365. Due to limited knowledge, the municipalities assigned the development of the tenders’ call to the national energy agency.

The tender was successfull and the contract with the supplier was signed in August 2016. The replacement of previous luminaires with LED bulbs will result in a 44% reduction in electricity bills for both municipalities, improve the quality of illumination in streets (reducing the danger for accidents), reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy efficiency in the area.

The main problem was public authorities’ limited experience in applying green criteria for tenders and in responding to companies’ inquiries regarding technical specifications. To address this issue, the municipalities assigned the the development of the tender to the national energy agency.

In our opinion, this case has high learning and transfering potential. Firstly, the procured product (street lightning) is a universal need for municipalities. Secondly, the result combines ecological advantages with financial benefits, providing extra incentive for its adoption by other entities. Thirdly, the green criteria used (LED lightning with particular specifications) are easily applied and can be easily duplicated. Finally, the successful approach of consulting an external expertise on the practical issues when developing a green procurement tender can also be informative to entities facing the same challenges.