Energy. A town near Nantes’ account explodes, a school group project is postponed

Le Figaro Nantes

Due to the rising cost of energy, individuals are sometimes forced to abandon certain investments. It’s the same for communities. Illustration in the south of Nantes, where the municipality of Boyer (about 8,500 inhabitants) has decided to postpone the construction of a school group. However, this project was introduced as a major.

To understand the situation, we need to delve into the energy costs of the local government. “Our bill is divided as follows: one third of gas, the rest – electricity.”, presented by Mayor Jacques Gareau. The annual bill for gas is about €80,000 or about 1% of the municipality’s total budget.

Well, that was before the price hike. Since then, the situation has been radically different. “When we wanted to sign a new fixed price contract with our supplier this summer, the price went up by 1,000 percent.”, is still struggling to reach the aedile. In total, the contract will be worth €800,000 per year. Why are they giving the accountant of the municipality a cold sweat?

400% increase

The decision was then made to wait for a possible drop in energy market prices before signing a new contract and making payments, which are now subject to monthly fluctuations. “In addition to the fact that we need stability to manage our budget. It’s not a long-term solution.”, regrets Jacques Garaud. The choice made this summer still seems right.

The price of gas has recently been decreasing. It remains, despite everything, which is much higher than the previous contract signed by the municipality. “We now expect an annual spend of €320,000, which is a 400% increase.”says Jacques Garaud.

Money that weighs heavily on local finances. Therefore, the choice was made to fit into the annual budget, to ignore the school group project, which is estimated at six million euros, for which the loan provided would be worth about 250,000 euros per year.

“Instead, I’ll put this money toward paying the gas bill.”, regrets the chosen one. To stop this downward spiral of energy prices, its municipality has decided to join the energy purchasing group initiated by Nantes Métropole in 2024.