Energy sobriety plan: goal of reducing consumption by 10% by 2024

Faced with the prospect of stopping Russian gas supplies, Emmanuel Macron calls for “general mobilization” and “energy sobriety”.

According to information from BFMTV, this plan will be presented at the end of September after two milestones in late July and early September.

The objective is clearly defined, it is to reduce our energy consumption (electricity, gas, fuel) by 10% by 2024.

Work groups

Several working groups will be created to work on the levers to reduce consumption with public administrations, social agents, establishments open to the public such as supermarkets or shops, professionals in new and old housing, local communities and the tourism sector.

Avenues are already being considered. For establishments open to the public and commercial areas, the idea will be to work on building management, with automation devices and presence control, more sober mobility, whether for employees or carriers.

Both for trade union and business organizations as well as for professional federations, it will be a question of building a business mobility plan or committing to the different support systems for employees (sustainable mobility package, transport voucher for fuel assistance, car- sharing, or pro-cycling employer label).

It would now be possible to combine the sustainable mobility package with the partial reimbursement of a public transport pass and benefit from it even when the agent’s annual number of trips is less than 100 days.

Apply existing devices

The question of the management of commercial buildings, in particular with teleworking, will also be raised. It will be a matter of knowing how to better manage the absence of employees to save energy in companies.

For the public service, the management of the State housing stock with the energy rehabilitation of buildings is on the table.

Finally, the State’s purchasing strategy must take into account environmental criteria when awarding a public contract.

But to achieve its goal of sobriety, the government wants us to apply the existing law and systems as well.

The 2016 energy code foresees prohibiting heating above 19 degrees in companies and public establishments or air conditioning in offices below 26 degrees.

Finally, the decree of December 27, 2018 on light pollution establishes that the lights in shop windows must be turned off at 01:00 a.m. or 1 hour after activity ceases at the latest.