Swimming pools, skiing, industries… these sectors threatened by the increase in energy prices

Gas and electricity prices have been rising steadily for months, increasing the bill for multiple infrastructures: swimming pools, gymnasiums, ski areas, industries… Overview of the sectors affected or threatened by closures. As autumn approaches, the energy situation is becoming tense in several sectors in France. Soaring energy prices (gas and electricity) have radically increased the operating costs of several public infrastructures – swimming pools, ice rinks, gymnasiums, sports halls – and private ones – ski areas and businesses. familiarity with records, selling on the markets for up to 251 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) in mid-August. “At this price, gas is 11 times more expensive than the seasonal average for the past five years,” noted the newspaper Les Echos. Electricity, too, continues to increase: when it was necessary to count 50 euros for a MWh at the beginning of 2021, then 222 euros at the end of 2021, the wholesale price reached euros during this summer. Public swimming pools and skating rinks closed This energy-intensive sector has been hit hard by the increase in gas prices. For this reason, the operating company Vert Marine closed Monday, September 5 the doors of around thirty public swimming pools which it manages – in Montauban, Versailles or Limoges. Around 10% of the 4,000 French public swimming pools are managed via a delegation public service, and not directly by the community where it is located. Vert Marine told AFP to close “for a temporary period” a third of the 90 establishments it manages and placed “staff on partial unemployment”. In its press release, the company affirms that its energy bill has gone from ” 15 to 100 million euros”, or “the entire annual turnover of the company. For the same reasons, it has also closed ice rinks which it manages. This situation annoys users: the closure of this equipment temporarily deprives season pass holders, people in sport-study or even school groups from swimming or boarding, while the French Ministry of Sports has made “knowing how to swim” a priority in its policy for several years , in order to prevent drownings. opening of the ice rink “as soon as possible”. The vice-president of the agglomeration of Limoges, Fabien Doucet, is considering the possibility of legal action, denouncing an “inadmissible” decision: “The equipment which cost 50 million euros serves the inhabitants of around twenty municipalities which, overnight, are taken hostage. energy sobriety.”As regards swimming pools and ice rinks, work is carried out in particular with representatives of these players (including Union Sport et Cycle) and local authorities to find solutions to reduce consumption while preserving the environment. ‘sporting and economic activity’, said last week, without further details, the Ministers of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, and Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher. “Additional measures will be studied in the event of strong tensions on the networks”. Local public services “at risk” for local authorities Local authorities have been hit for months by the increase in energy prices, straining the budgets of many French municipalities. Swimming pools top the list of expenses, but without sustainable solutions for the next few months, other local public services could be affected such as gymnasiums, museums, media libraries, even schools, colleges and high schools. “Our budgets are exploding Inflation massively affects all the buildings of local authorities, whether sporting, cultural or of any other nature, “says André Laignel, vice-president of the Association of Mayors of France. According to the Association of small towns in France, the energy expenditure of certain municipalities has jumped by 50%. For the AMF and the National Federation of Concessioning and Regulated Communities, these increases vary between 30 and 300% In a report published at the end of July, the Senate pointed out several risks induced by the sudden rise in energy costs “(This) jeopardizes essential local public services.(This) also risks causing local authorities to abandon their investment projects linked to the energy transition and leading to an increase in local taxes affecting the purchasing power of households. “Several communities have been adapting for months to reduce the energy bill. In Limoges, the municipality notably lowered the temperature of its gymnasiums and closed its ice rink this summer. Cities like Brive-la-Gaillarde plan to implement an energy saving plan in the years to come, such as reducing public lighting. The ministry in charge of local authorities reminded AFP that “the safety net put in place this summer represents 430 million euros to support municipalities and inter-municipalities weakened by the rise in the index point for civil servants, energy and food costs, 120 million for departments and 18 million for the regions”. At the same time, the additional cost of energy should reach 11 billion euros in 2022 for local authorities, according to BFMTV. Concern in the ski resorts Before the start of the winter season, the operators of the ski resorts do not hide their concern either. The current prices of electricity constitute “a first huge obstacle”, told AFP Fabrice Boutet, general manager of SATA group, a company which manages the lifts of Alpe-d’Huez, Deux-Alpes and La Grave.According to projections, the current rates would result for the group in “a bill that goes from one to ten, roughly, from two to twenty million (euros)”, according to him. He will also have to adjust the speeds of the lifts, the opening hours and work on long-term energy savings, he underlines. This increase in energy prices “is very brutal and completely unprecedented”, worries also Laurent Reynaud, general delegate of Domaines skiables de France – the professional chamber of ski area operators: “If electricity represented between 3 and 5% of turnover depending on the area, by multiplying by three or even four the bill as this is the case today, we would mechanically go to 10 to 20% of turnover.” Professionals in the sector believe despite everything that the opening of their ski resorts is not compromised but they also appeal to state intervention. Dominique Thillaud, director of the Compagnie des Alpes – which manages many large resorts including Tignes, Val d’Isère, or La Plagne – “wishes to join the calls made to the attention of the government to restore rationality in a sector of energy has become absolutely irrational, especially with regard to pricing”. Partial unemployment and lower production in industries The soaring prices are already forcing some companies to make strategic decisions in view of this winter. This is the case of Aluminum Dunkerque, in the north of France: this aluminum foundry – France’s leading industrial site in terms of electricity consumption with 4 terawhathours per year – has decided to reduce its production by 22% to the last quarter of 2022 in order to meet the bills. “From October, we would be in a very significant loss if we continued production as is,” the company’s general manager told Reuters. , Guillaume de Goÿs. And to clarify that without this decision, the electricity bills of the company would increase from 40 million euros per month today to 150 million euros in December, according to the expected prices of electricity. There is currently no question of partial unemployment for the 650 employees of the site. In addition to Aluminum Dunkerque, other companies in the steel industry have announced cuts in their production or an internal reorganization of work to limit the impact of rising electricity costs. This is the choice made by Ascométal (1,200 people employed in France), which will interrupt its activity for two to three weeks during the month of December in its factories in Hagondange (Moselle) and Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches- du Rhône). Some employees will be placed on short-time work. The famous glassware company Duralex announced on September 1 that it was going to put its furnace on standby for a minimum of four months from November and place all of its its employees on partial unemployment. “Producing at the daily energy rate would generate unsustainable losses. Limiting our energy consumption in the period that is beginning therefore allows us to preserve the activity and employment of Duralex”, declared the president of the company, José-Luis Llacuna. And the hardest part is yet to come at the start of 2023. of them are likely to end up with prices multiplied by five from January 2023”, explains to World the entrepreneur Marc Alric. If energy prices do not stabilize within a few months, winter promises to be harsh in several sectors. 02:17 In the Eurial Ultrafrais factory in Jouy (Yonne) © France24