Resumo:
The current study seeks to quantify the actual impacts resulting from the
implementation of a series of actions aimed at modernizing and enhancing the efficiency of
public lighting in 116 municipalities in the state of Bahia. The projects were carried out in
two stages, covering the period between 1998 and 2002. The implementation of each one of
the projects is analyzed, with the actual result being checked against the original goal that was
established for reducing both demand and electric energy consumption. In addition, the
pattern of electricity consumption in each one of the municipalities in both stages is also
analyzed. The results indicate that the goals first proposed by the projects are not fully
achieved and that, in most of the cases, there is an increase in the municipality’s electric
energy consumption, which suggests that the replaced equipment might have been used for
inefficient expansion of the public lighting system or maybe the electric charge has been
moved from the class of Public Lighting to another class. In this study there is also a brief
account of the performance of Procel, the Reluz Program, and the public lighting in Brazil and
in Bahia. Some subsequent work is proposed, as well as measures susceptible of
implementation by the federal, state, and municipal governments, with the purpose of
improving the process of follow-up and control of public lighting efficiency and
modernization projects in the country.
