Public lighting in São Paulo

The largest capital city in the country boasts the largest lighting infrastructure in Latin America, with 617 lamps spread throughout its territory. This scale has required a complete overhaul of the management and planning of the Public Lighting Department (ILUME) in recent years – created in 1968, therefore 48 years ago – to improve the efficiency of meeting the population's needs in this sector. One of the first initiatives was the installation of more lighting points in the city, in addition to those already existing. Initially, the target was the installation of 18 new points; however, it was possible to exceed this mark by up to 300%, allowing São Paulo to expand its lighting infrastructure to more than 50 units.

A program to remodel the system was also implemented, replacing mercury vapor lamps with sodium vapor lamps, which provide brighter illumination and reduce energy consumption. To date, more than 255 replacements have been made, representing approximately 30% of the city's lighting infrastructure. A political and administrative decision also enabled the approval of LED luminaires for the rest of the city and the implementation of the most ambitious and important public lighting program in São Paulo's history. Previously, the application of this technology was restricted to the city's tunnels; with the new definition, LED lighting began to be installed on important city thoroughfares such as the North-South corridor.

Subsequently, the program was extended to locations on the outskirts of the municipality, with greater social vulnerability and lack of security. To this end, the "LED in the Neighborhoods" program was created, initially implemented in the streets, alleys, and avenues of the Heliópolis and Monte Azul communities and later expanded to the districts of Brasilândia, Lajeado, Sapopemba, Raposo Tavares, Jardim Ângela, Jardim Helena, Pedreira, Cidade Tiradentes, Guaianases, Perus, Iguatemi, and Jabaquara (partially), totaling 86.926 LED points and benefiting more than 2 million people.

LED technology allows for low maintenance, high energy efficiency (it illuminates twice as much as sodium vapor lamps) and has a long lifespan (approximately 12 years). Furthermore, it reduces carbon dioxide emissions because the material does not contain heavy metals in its composition and allows for integration with other technologies such as the installation of security cameras (an experience already underway in Heliópolis) and remote control of operation.

Effective planning of the public lighting service has led to substantial improvements in service rates. In 2013, ILUME (the municipal lighting authority) was the agency with the most complaints filed with the city's Ombudsman; in 2015, the agency ranked 20th in complaints, with an annual reduction of 75%. The modernization of the system, even with the significant increases in the cost of energy supplied (in 2015 the bill was readjusted by approximately 72%), still resulted in savings of approximately 12% in electricity consumption.

The continuation of a model that has allowed for greater energy efficiency at a lower cost would be of paramount importance to the population of São Paulo. To this end, studies were conducted that formed the basis for the creation of the International Public-Private Partnership (PPP) tender for the modernization of public lighting. The objective is to provide the entire city with LED lighting. The Secretariat of Services received support from São Paulo Negócios and the World Bank to provide technical assistance in the bidding process. The bidding process is in its final phase, awaiting approval from the Court of Auditors for its completion. It is expected that the new government will maintain the ongoing modernization program.