TfL Ref: 2186-1819

Thank you for your email received by us on 21 November 2018 asking for information about Transport for London’s (TfL) energy usage.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.

What is the energy use of all of TFL transport and services,

Our total annual electricity consumption is 1,547,411,000 kWh. Whilst annual gas consumption is 79,062,005 kWh.

Our energy consumption is reported in our annual Health, Safety and Environment report, and in quarterly updates to the Safety, Sustainability and HR Panel of the Board – see https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/health-safety-and-environment and https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/safety-sustainability-hr

including exported data processing?

Our enterprise datacentres consume around 774KW of power per month.

We also store and process data in externally hosted data centres. Information on the energy consumed by these third party providers when storing our data and providing us with IT services is not available to us.

Why do TFL continue to expand data usage which is a high energy user? And does it account for all the exported energy use of data processing at the server?

We use our data to run a sustainable transport network where we are encouraging people travelling in London to do so by public transport, walking and cycling, which supports the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and London Environment Strategy, as explained via the following links:

https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/the-mayors-transport-strategy

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/london-environment-strategy

Automation of motor traffic is is a high energy user. Has TFL measured the energy use of onboard computers, sensors, radar, cameras and exported data processing in automated motor vehicles?

Currently there are no automated vehicles in our fleet and therefore no measurements are available of the power requirements of data transmission should such vehicles be introduced.

However, many of the above systems mentioned in your request support our Vision Zero road safety objectives, and connectivity plays a useful role in terms of traffic management and emergency response. Further information about Vision Zero can be viewed here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/road-safety/vision-zero-for-london

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London