In the mind of the mayor of Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain), the debate does not really exist. “No decision has been made, but we have no taboos. If, in the middle of winter, there is a risk of a shortage [d’électricité et de gaz] and that we have to decide between closing factories or closing swimming pools, my decision is made”, explains Jean-François Debat.
In around thirty swimming pools in France, the decision was inevitable. Vert Marine, which operates this equipment by delegation of public service (DSP), decided to close this equipment due to the “energy cost increases“.”Between July and September, we went from 250 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) to 1,000 euros, it’s untenable”, justified in a press release the president of Vert Marine, Thierry Chaix. However, this decision contravenes the principle of continuity of public service, since local authorities can manage their public services directly or entrust their management to a third party via a concession or a DSP.
Will the trend of closures, partial or total, continue this fall, then during the winter? The various elected officials and representatives interviewed by franceinfo explain that this scenario is to be feared. The France Urbaine association, which represents all the metropolises, urban communities, urban communities and major cities in France, reports that “10% of the 108 territories it represents are considering or imagining a partial or total closure of a swimming pool on their territory this winter”, adding that “ice rinks could also be affected”.
In the agglomeration of Montpellier (Hérault), for example, the swimming pools of Lansargues, Palavas-les-Flots, Mauguio and La Grande Motte “close one day a week” as well as one to two months for oil changes. A measure that allows “the community to save 300,000 to 320,000 euros”, informs the community of communes of the Pays de l’Or.
In Paris, the town hall does not intend to come to this, even if the Pailleron swimming pool located in the 19th arrondissement is closed, following the decision of Vert Marine.“For now, we want to leave all our swimming pools open”, assured Tuesday on franceinfo Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of sport. However, these openings have a price: “It costs us several million euros more. For swimming pools, it doubles the price of energy.” The town hall of Paris plans, rather than closures, to reduce the temperature of the water for example.
Lhe average operating cost of swimming pools is estimated at 1,073 euros/m²/year for municipalities, according to the latest report from the Observatory of Local Finance and Public Management (OFGL) published in 2021. Energy expenditure represented 15.2% of the budget in the case of a communal swimming pool.
Beyond swimming pools, ice rinks and ski resorts could also be affected by the rise in energy prices. In Niort (Deux-Sèvres), the town hall postponed the opening of its ice rink to October to cushion the rise in bills, while the Grenoble ice rink (Isère), one of the largest in France which notably hosts the club French ice-hockey champion, dreads winter.
“We are asked to study the technical feasibility of daily closures but also to automate load shedding.”
Martial Rodrigues, technical manager of the Grenoble ice rinkat franceinfo
The complex, managed by the metropolis, has already closed one of the two rooms of the complex this summer, with the consequence of a reorganization of the teams and reductions in staff. “We are very worried for the weeks to come. We were off to a good start after the Covid-19, and there, we are picking up this event in the gums”, blows Martial Rodrigues about this panicking electricity bill.
“Generally, we have an annual increase between 1 and 4%, but in January the first bill was multiplied by three.” A substantial note for equipment that consumes 4,000 MWh per year. Knowing that fin September, the wholesale price of electricity had thus reached more than 1,000 euros per megawatt hour against around 85 euros a year ago.
In the mountains, ski resorts are also affected by rising energy prices. Could some close in the middle of the season during very cold weather? “When you’re asked to pay twice your turnover to pay for your electricity consumption, it’s going to be very complicated. As it stands, if we don’t find a solution, stations won’t be able to open, for sure”, confides Anne Marty, delegate president of the Ski Areas of France, to France 3 Occitanie.
The mayor of Les Orres, a ski resort in the Hautes-Alpes, saw the bill for his area explode, too. “There is an additional energy cost of two million euros between 2019 and 2022”, explains Pierre Vollaire, also vice-president of the national association of mayors of mountain resorts (ANMSM).
“For the moment, we are not considering any closures, but we are going to reduce our energy consumption by 20%, reduce the speed of the chairlifts and we will be forced to increase the price of the packages a little, around 7%”explains the elected official, who was on Tuesday at the Ministry of the Economy to discuss the consequences of the rise in energy.