A ruling on energy monitoring technology in France raises yet again the question of who will benefit from energy management devices: utilities or consumers. The New York Times reports today that the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) recently came down decisively in favor of utilities. The case pitted Voltalis, a smart meter company that has installed "Bluepod boxes" designed to save consumers up to 10% on their utility bills and to reduce peak usage, thereby cutting back the need for additional power plants, against utilities like the 85% goverrment owned Électricité de France. Voltalis has an innovative business model in which grid operators benefit from increased control and reduced peak draw while customers simultaneously reap the direct benefit of their own savings.
Instead, the CRE ruled that Voltalis should pay the power companies, finding, "its service would not be possible without the producer maintaining production.” This didn't go over well with Voltalis' chief executive, who has taken his battle to the streets:
“From the consumer’s side, it’s exactly symmetrical,” Mr. Bivas said on Tuesday. “In both cases, the energy produced is used by consumers and paid for by consumers. They’re saying consumers should pay for the energy that was never produced and never used.” - New York Times.
The debate is miles away, but only geographically. In a strikingly familiar line, one regulator pointed out that the CRE is still interested in demand management, and will "continue to work with Voltalis on ways to provide real-time demand data." In other words, French utilities, like those on this side of the pond, appreciate the increased control and peak use management afforded by energy monitoring technologies. Making sure that consumers reap the benefits of changing their behavior and reducing usage is not a particularly high priority. In fact, as the antinuclear group Sortir du Nucleaire put it (rather dramatically), “At this rate, it will soon be obligatory in France to consume large quantities of electricity, or face taxes and fines, and maybe imprisonment, too.”
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