Paris mayor presents plans to significantly cut energy consumption

The impressive City Hall building will not be lit up at night

The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, presented a plan for energy discipline of the French capital today. The crisis with electricity prices hitting her city, just like most places in Europe, calls for frugal measures and joint efforts from public and private individuals. The goal: make overall energy savings of 10%.

Energy savings, without compromising on safety

Hidalgo affirmed today her renewed commitment to the energy transition, claiming that since 2014 her city has invested over 10 billion euros in it. However, the times demand swifter and more strict measures. In particular, the plan for a more energy-efficient Paris includes:

• Turning off the lights in all municipal buildings such as the City Hall, the museums, or the district town halls at 22:00 (instead of 1:00 as it was before). For safety concerns, public lighting will be maintained, however;
• Decorative lighting on bridges in the French capital could be switched off if such a step is compatible with river navigation safety regulations;
• the illumination of the Eiffel Tower will now end at 11:45 p.m;
• there will be a gradual drop in temperatures in all public buildings, safe for those welcoming vulnerable people, nurseries and establishments for seniors;
• in the administrative buildings, the start of heating during the winter heating season will be delayed by 30 minutes in the morning;

Hidalgo also stated that the city is pursuing a policy to accelerate the energy transition even further. Since 2014, more than one billion euros have already been invested in the thermal renovation of buildings and these programs will now be boosted for both public and private buildings.

Finally, the mayor also explained that the mobilisation for energy savings must be wide and general, as 96% of the energy consumption does not depend on municipal public services. She, therefore, called on economic actors to reduce their consumption by 10%.