What are the activities of SÉOLIS?
SÉOLIS is a local energy company, founded at the beginning of the 20th century by the elected officials of Deux-Sèvres, today grouped in the Syndicat d’Énergie des Deux-Sèvres (256 municipalities and 8 EPCI). We are both providers of electricity, gas and propane gas, producers of wind, solar, biomethane and hydroelectricity energy, operators of electricity and gas distribution networks, as well as offering associated services: public lighting, and installation and operation of a network of electrical terminals on the public highway of Deux-Sèvres. We are also in the process of building three BioNGV stations to interconnect the department.
SÉOLIS is an integrated group of 400 people, which represents a turnover of 400 million euros, and we sell 2.3 TWh of electricity for 173,000 contracts. We are 100% local but national in scope as we supply as much energy in the rest of France as in Deux-Sèvres, where we operate and develop 14,000 km of power lines.
What are the consequences of the energy crisis we are going through?
The clients most affected are companies and municipalities, since individuals and small professionals are protected by the tariff shield and energy-intensive clients benefit from special measures. As of mid-October, we have around 450 commercial customers in Deux-Sèvres who are delaying their contract renewal. The price of energy is simply not sustainable for your 2023 budget! The communities have x2 to x10 bills and are concerned about the functioning of their public services.
Beyond price speculation, there is a reality of tension in the supply, whether in electricity with a very small nuclear park in its production capacities, or in gas, despite the stocks in the underground natural gas deposits, and the transfer of supply to liquefied natural gas. Our historic network administrator, GÉRÉDIS, is preparing to implement the exceptional and preventive cut-off measures discussed with RTE and the Prefecture. The list of clients by level of this plan was validated at the end of September by the Prefecture. We are signatories to the Ecowatt charter and we will pass on the signs and behaviors to follow to customers.
What are the risks if there are no government measures?
Without aid or compensation systems to alleviate this vertiginous rise in prices, we are very concerned about the future of the French industrial and economic fabric. The simulation of the invoices of some companies for 2023 is higher than their net results. They will not be able to meet their bills, we will have several million euros in arrears and we will then be left with subscribed volumes of energy that we will have to resell at certainly lower prices.
With the current price of energy, the guarantees requested by the counterparties from whom we buy our energy are extremely important, and we had to review our financial guarantees with our banks. Fewer and fewer alternative providers are offering a 2023 offer to customers who have not yet signed up and who may be less financially sound. Without a state guarantee put in place quickly, there is a risk of having a large number of customers without a provider on January 1. At Deux-Sèvres, we offer a contract offer to each of our clients and we were among the first signatories of the Supplier Charter to reiterate our commitment and our solidarity with Deux-Sévriens.
This content was produced with SCRIBEO. The BFMBUSINESS editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.
Source: BFM TV
