On March 2, 2023, “Complementary investigation” looks at a vast project with both economic and ecological challenges: energy renovation. Where are the government’s promises to put an end to thermal colanders? Why does the MaPrimeRénov’ platform, set up to help individuals finance this type of work in their home, work so badly? Is public money well spent?
This is one of the flagship measures of the government’s energy renovation plan: the MaPrimeRénov’ scheme. This energy transition bonus was set up in 2020 to help individuals finance their renovation work, from the energy audit of the home to the installation of a renewable energy boiler. To benefit from it, you must start by registering on an internet platform… which has become famous for its malfunctions. On Facebook, the approximately 18,000 members of the “MaPrimeRénov’ page: the obstacle course”, to varying degrees, “tear their hair out”. Repeated bugs, late payments… the defender of rights has received a thousand complaints. Why are there so many bugs on the MaPrimeRénov’ website?
“We still have a completely buggy platform that they can’t fix.”
A former employee of the ANAH (National Housing Agency)to “Further investigation”
Former employees of the ANAH (the National Housing Agency, responsible for paying the aid) implicate the service provider responsible for the design of the platform, Capgemini. This large Parisian consulting firm would have, according to testimonies collected by “Complément d’Enquête”, entrusted to inexperienced developers. Moreover, pTo fulfill the government’s promise, they would have had only five months to develop the site.
Deadlines too short? An incompetent service provider? “Never”, says the director of the ANAH, Valérie Mancret-Taylor (Capgemini did not wish to grant an interview to “Complément d’Enquête”). “I do not accept that we say ‘The platform does not work'”, she warns, only admitting “really very low proportions” of “files in difficulty”, and putting forward the renovation of 670,000 homes last year. The president’s commitment (to renovate 700,000 homes per year) would almost be kept?
Where are we with the objectives set by the government?
However, state bodies are sounding the alarm: France Strategy (a structure that depends on Matignon) points to an immense majority (83%) of “too partial renovations”the Senate delivers a pessimistic report…
“Only 2,100 dwellings came out of thermal sieve status in 2021, very far from the target set for this year (80,000).
Senate Reportquoted in “Additional investigation”
As for the expert interviewed by “Complément d’Enquête”, Vincent Legrand (General Manager of Dorémi, a social and solidarity company committed to energy efficiency), he considers that “public money is not used efficiently” : according him, “massively finance types of work [tels que] windows, heat pumps, partial insulation is not efficient at all from the point of view of public funds”. According to the expert, the government would favor political display to the detriment of efficiency.
Extract of ” Energy renovation: billions spent for nothing?”, a document to see in “Complementary investigation” on March 2, 2023.
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