ALS
07-27-2009, 06:41 PM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg "This is organised racketeering, a premium for wasting energy and an absurd decision in total contradiction with the government's undertakings on the environment," (http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2009/07/france-to-punish-energy-savers-.html)
http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451d14e69e2011572234bbf970b-300wiCharles Bremner - TYPEPAD (http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com) - July 27, 2009
This is so typical of Government --Ed.
Since President Sarkozy has put France in the forefront of the international campaign to reduce carbon emissions, this little news item is rather piquant.
It involves a small French company called Voltalis which is marketing a clever device that cuts electricity bills. That sounds laudable but it has fallen foul of the state energy regulatory commission. The agency has just ordered Voltalis to pay the power producers -- dominated by the state behemoth Electricité de France (EDF) -- for the juice that it saves consumers. That will negate the whole point of the exercise.
It's the world upside down, as the French say. The Greens and a group called Sortir du Nucléaire have been having fun with the story, along with the media. "This is organised racketeering, a premium for wasting energy and an absurd decision in total contradiction with the government's undertakings on the environment," said the anti-nuclear group. The villain of the piece is EDF, especially since the company announced this month that it wants to raise its charges by 20 percent over the next couple of years [above: one of EDF's climate-friendly adverts].
The government at first supported the regulators but, in the face of the media mockery, it has now backed off and is looking for a solution.
In reality, there is logic behind the agency decision. Getting technical, Voltalis performs "distributive load-shedding". It installs a box free in consumer's homes that enables the company temporarily to switch off, via the internet, heaters and air conditioners when the demand on the overall network is reaching a peak. This saves the consumer up to 10 percent of their bill and it reduces the need to bring in extra power to meet the peak. RTE, the national grid operator pays Voltalis for the service, which is now in place with some 5,000 customers in France, with tens of thousands more expected. Similar schemes are being tried in the United States.
The trouble comes when the grid operator sells on power that is surplus from one producer because demand has been reduced when its customers' use of the Voltalis system [electricity can't be stored]. That producer is not paid by its customers, so loses out. The regulator says Voltalis must pay compensation... http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2009/07/france-to-punish-energy-savers-.html
http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451d14e69e2011572234bbf970b-300wiCharles Bremner - TYPEPAD (http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com) - July 27, 2009
This is so typical of Government --Ed.
Since President Sarkozy has put France in the forefront of the international campaign to reduce carbon emissions, this little news item is rather piquant.
It involves a small French company called Voltalis which is marketing a clever device that cuts electricity bills. That sounds laudable but it has fallen foul of the state energy regulatory commission. The agency has just ordered Voltalis to pay the power producers -- dominated by the state behemoth Electricité de France (EDF) -- for the juice that it saves consumers. That will negate the whole point of the exercise.
It's the world upside down, as the French say. The Greens and a group called Sortir du Nucléaire have been having fun with the story, along with the media. "This is organised racketeering, a premium for wasting energy and an absurd decision in total contradiction with the government's undertakings on the environment," said the anti-nuclear group. The villain of the piece is EDF, especially since the company announced this month that it wants to raise its charges by 20 percent over the next couple of years [above: one of EDF's climate-friendly adverts].
The government at first supported the regulators but, in the face of the media mockery, it has now backed off and is looking for a solution.
In reality, there is logic behind the agency decision. Getting technical, Voltalis performs "distributive load-shedding". It installs a box free in consumer's homes that enables the company temporarily to switch off, via the internet, heaters and air conditioners when the demand on the overall network is reaching a peak. This saves the consumer up to 10 percent of their bill and it reduces the need to bring in extra power to meet the peak. RTE, the national grid operator pays Voltalis for the service, which is now in place with some 5,000 customers in France, with tens of thousands more expected. Similar schemes are being tried in the United States.
The trouble comes when the grid operator sells on power that is surplus from one producer because demand has been reduced when its customers' use of the Voltalis system [electricity can't be stored]. That producer is not paid by its customers, so loses out. The regulator says Voltalis must pay compensation... http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2009/07/france-to-punish-energy-savers-.html