Anna Creti, professor of economics at the University of Paris Dauphine-PSL, scientific director of the Climate Economics Chair, explains on Sunday March 27 on franceinfo that the “small gain” in terms of energy saving with the time change “decreased over time”, because today it only saves“1% of global electricity consumption”.
franceinfo: What does this time change represent in terms of energy savings?
Anna Creti : There is a small gain but it has diminished over time. Today, it is estimated in France that it is more or less 1% of overall electricity consumption. To give an idea, it is the consumption of about 70,000 households. If we look specifically at lighting, this corresponds to the consumption of 800,000 homes.
The argument of energy savings, invoked to set up the time change in 1976, no longer holds?
There is a portion of those gains that in 1976 were much larger, around 10%. It has been absorbed by the use, particularly in public lighting, of all low-consumption means. This is technically due to improved light bulbs.
Is there a different way to save energy?
Yes. The demand for electricity is just shifted, shifted, but structurally it does not change. Certainly, the question of savings is more important than ever, and we tell ourselves that even small efforts are important. But as such, we should not wait to make the effort just at the end of the day, it is a structural change that must be encouraged. Real energy savings happen when you consume less throughout the day, and even more so when you make investments that permanently reduce energy demand.
Are energy-saving light bulbs an essential factor?
In the public space, this is often the case, because these are management contracts managed by Enedis. Where it is not systematic is in households. On this side, there is a lever that seems very easy to me and is not yet systematic.
We are in the midst of an energy crisis, the prices of electricity are fixed on those of gas: can we save?
Looking at the energy crisis as something that depends only on international issues is not always good. These questions obviously affect gas prices and by extension also electricity prices, as well as fuel and oil prices.
“When you really want to attack these issues of decreasing energy demand, it’s also a behavioral issue.”
Anna Creti, Professor of Economicsat franceinfo
The fact that we are all responsible for using energy and electricity in a more rational way is something that is within reach of our habits. Now might be the right time to think about it.