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On September 14, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced a package of new measures to stem the energy crisis. Vital help for households and even more so for businesses.
We talk a lot about soaring household bills or the risk of power cuts, because this issue is ultra-sensitive in political terms. The discontent of European citizens could trigger strikes and demonstrations. And the risk is to have a movement that turns against the anti-Russian sanctions decided by the Twenty-Seven, as we have seen recently with demonstrations in the Czech Republic. But economically, with the shields put in place by governments in most European countries, households benefit from significant shock absorbers. In France, where electricity has only increased by 4% this year, the increase is capped at 15% for 2023, promised on September 14, the Prime Minister. In Spain and Portugal, the rise has slowed sharply since the electricity market has been decoupled from the price of gas.
During this time, companies must deal with increases of 400 to 500%.
Increases so strong that they condemn their activity. Many companies have already closed sites. In France, this is the case of Duralex, which is suspending its activity from November 1. The plastics industry is also considering plant closures in the coming weeks. Chemicals and metallurgy are the two sectors most affected by the rise in the price of electricity and gas. They are part of so-called energy-intensive industries which benefit from public aid. In Germany, where chemicals are one of the business drivers, production is expected to fall by 5%. Italian industry is also heavily penalized by the rise in gas and electricity prices.
The food industry is also one of the industries highly dependent on gas and electricity.
In Poland, fruit growers have already stopped harvesting apples because at the current price of electricity, keeping them in fridges all winter long eats up all their profit margins. The question will arise quickly in France. A French confectioner entrusts – to our colleagues fromNew Factory : the electricity bill has gone from 2.5 million euros in 2021 to 3.5 million this year. It should be 15 million next year. Suffice to say that the price increase seems inevitable. These industries also consume a lot of gas in their process and they do not currently have the capacity to set up alternative technologies at short notice.
► Read also: Strong reactions after the speech in front of the European Parliament by Ursula von der Leyen
Do manufacturers have projects to save energy or to cope with possible power outages?
Those who are recognized as actors of vital importance will not suffer possible deletions. OVH, the French champion of computer data storage, is one of these groups preserved in France. But to deal with all risks, it has equipped itself with a generator running on diesel in the event of a shortage. Most manufacturers have already been committed to energy cost reduction policies for several years, but when prices are multiplied by ten, the effort required will not be enough. It is often partial unemployment that appears to be the most protective solution for the company.
► AND BREF
The founder of the Patagonia clothing brand donates his company to an association for the protection of nature.
The band is worth around $3 billion. It could have been sold to a buyer or listed on Wall Street. But Yvon Chouinard, who created this company specializing in outerwear, and has managed it by conforming to an environmental ethic for 50 years, preferred to transfer the property to a trust guaranteeing respect for its values. His message: the Earth is now our sole shareholder ».