Equans France's Engineering Services for Epinal's Street Lighting System
Energy Savings for City Lighting
By Paul Martinet, Street Lighting Engineer at Equans France
Can you explain your line of work and the challenges involved in renewing a comprehensive performance-based public contract?
My job involves responding to requests for proposals. These are comprehensive public performance contracts focused on street lighting.
Our goal is to provide the proposal best suited to the client’s needs in order to win the bid and, once awarded, ensure that the contract runs smoothly and adheres to the proposal submitted to the client.
In 2023, the city of Épinal issued a call for bids to meet its public lighting and urban planning needs, with a particular focus on energy savings. Ineo Réseaux was therefore fully committed to winning this high-stakes contract and continuing the work its teams have been carrying out for the past 11 and a half years.
Can you describe the challenges involved in a request for proposals, particularly with the city of Epinal?
The key to a successful bid is to fully understand the context, the client’s expectations, and needs, and to propose a sustainable, high-quality solution that, above all, reduces the client’s expenses. The challenge is therefore comprehensive. It’s about maintaining trust between the client and us.
We had previously won the Épinal contract, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). It was a great contract involving the renovation of the lighting system, which also enabled us to renew this contract with them.
Thus, the client’s trust in us, combined with our expertise in this specific market, enabled us to present them with an attractive and appropriate proposal.
Can you tell us about the teams at Ineo Réseaux, their commitment, and their ability to provide turnkey solutions?
Our partners in the city of Epinal are familiar with our field teams, our work methods, and our expertise. We maintain excellent relationships because they know they can count on us. That is where our strength lies.
Furthermore, they were very satisfied with our work on the previous contract—whether it was the well-executed public lighting renovations, the installation of LED fixtures, or the maintenance and responsiveness of our field teams.
One last thing I’d like to add is that we’re also here to offer innovative solutions tailored to the client’s needs.
Our understanding of the client and the market has enabled us to achieve our goal.
Mission accomplished—Ineo Réseaux won the bid! What's next?
It all begins. We might think we’ve won and can “rest easy,” but no!
There’s still a lot of work to be done: our entire response to the RFP needs to be finalized and rolled out.
To do this, I may need to communicate with field teams—who might, for example, be facing a technical issue—as well as with the legal teams, and, at the same time, with the project manager, with whom I handle the financial follow-up. I therefore coordinate with all parties to produce reports and keep the project on track.
Ensuring the successful execution of a contract as significant as the one with the city of Epinal requires expertise and a solid understanding of the local context. Paul, could you tell us about your background?
I started with a DUT in geothermal energy and then went on to an engineering school, ENSAM, as part of a work-study program. So I worked for three years at a firm before landing a position as a street lighting engineer. I was offered the position because the work-study program allowed me to work on this subject area with my colleagues. They asked me if I was interested in the position, and I told them I would be delighted to accept. In fact, I got along very well with them.
Why do you enjoy working in the field of street lighting at Ineo Réseaux so much?
What I like, on the one hand, are the energy savings that our solutions will enable through assistive technology.
Our goal is to maximize them as much as possible. I also appreciate the growing emphasis on biodiversity conservation and the reduction of intrusive light pollution in our offerings.
Thus, since we conduct our own lighting studies in-house, we have the ability to adapt lighting fixture models based on location (streets, parks, waterways, etc.) and temperature. The light will therefore be more orange-hued when we determine that biodiversity will be negatively impacted by blue light.
Speaking of biodiversity, it seems to me that your passion aligns with your profession. Can you tell us more about that?
Actually, I love photography!
I always have a camera with me: when I go out, when I go to the forest, or when I go hiking. I’m not trying to become famous by posting my photos everywhere. I want to take photos that bring back memories and that I can share if I feel like it.
I love landscapes because they give us a broad view, and macro photography because it highlights the details: a flower, an insect, an animal, etc.
Knowing how to switch between wide-angle and macro lenses. That’s undoubtedly an essential skill for handling a request for proposals!
Paul, we'll let you have the last word:
The movie *Invictus* quotes “I’m the captain of my soul,” and this—just like in rugby—emphasizes the importance of always moving forward, even if the passes are made backward.
We may make mistakes or suffer defeats, but that’s okay. We’re here to play as a team and achieve our goal, which is to score tries.
