Lights to be dimmed on A-7

MARBELLA will save 35 per cent on electricity by regulating the wattage of the A-7 streetlights.

Motorists are unlikely even to notice when dimmer switches reduce the lamps’ normal 250 watts to 150 during off-peak periods each night.

“We have opted for a measure that will be practically imperceptible to motorists but allows us to make important savings,” said Public Works councillor Javier Garcia.

Marbella’s municipal electricity bill came to €4.2 million last year, a sum the council is determined to trim down.

The town hall also explored the possibility of reducing lampposts on the A-7, retaining those at intersections, junctions, bridges, tunnels and bus-stops.

Options that included illuminating only the north side of the road or substituting existing streetlights for lower-consumption models were considered and rejected.

“Our final decision is the most sensible,” Garcia declared.

The scheme’s only downside is the €60,000 expense of fitting the dimmer devices and the remote management system’s future running costs.  Within less than three years, however, the equipment will have paid for itself, the councillor claimed.