€800,000 Savings Without Investment in Electricity Consumption
Lean Focus achieves savings of more than €800,000 without investment in an energy efficiency project on the infrastructure of more than 1,600km of highways.
Concerned about the high energy consumption on the toll roads, those responsible for operations considered it opportune at the beginning of 2013 to carry out an energy efficiency project on the infrastructures of its toll road network.
Lean Focus raised the realization of the project in three well-differentiated initiatives.
- Comprehensive inventory and allocation of individualized costs of almost 50,000 energy sinks (luminaires, panels, cameras, toll machines, fans, CPDs, flow regulators, fans, traffic lights, etc). This detail offered the possibility of defining comparative ratios of energy consumption between sections of similar facilities, detecting hidden consumption, equipment that did not work correctly, differences between concessionaires and endless improvement actions that were introduced in an action plan.
- Energy efficiency audit with a team of people who toured the entire highway network to analyze the current situation in detail, compare it with the inventory carried out, identify opportunities for improvement and establish best practices.
- Actions in electricity supply contracts: adjustments of contracted power based on its load curve, elimination of penalties, rate changes, time adaptation, proposal of capacitor banks or actions related to meters.
As the project developed, the first savings appeared. Knowing exactly the cost of things facilitates quick decision-making.
The improvement in the “uses and customs” of lighting, the optimal application of air conditioning, the elimination of unnecessary consumption or considering the need for many of the uses, offers individual opportunities that, multiplied by thousands of pieces of equipment, add up to the piggy bank of the savings without investment.
Additionally, the identification of obsolete elements and the technological homogenization in lighting equipment in roads or tunnels and the telemanagement of the network provided more opportunities.
Likewise, creating and homogenizing a catalog of states that ensures that the different electrical circuits adapt to each of the momentary needs of the network according to schedule, traffic, activity, open roads, personnel helped us to ensure that only what was consumed necessary.
As a result, in a few months savings of €800.00 were obtained and all without having to make investments.
But the job is not done. Now we have to work on applying the action plan to implement a detailed set of measures that require investment, prioritizing those with a quick return. Once implemented, the amount of savings will double those already achieved.