Electricity bills for public buildings will be reduced by 150 million euros in 2023, Gabriel Attal has calculated.

Electricity and gas bills for public buildings have fallen by 150 million euros between 2022 and 2023, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal estimated this Thursday. “2023 has become the year of energy sobriety,” the head of government welcomed during an event dedicated to the state’s “ecological transformation” plan.

Initiated in 2022 to reduce the administration’s gas and electricity consumption amid fears of supply shortages related to the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the “energy sobriety” cut the government’s gas consumption by 11% in one year. “Electricity,” Gabriel Attal assured.

Ambitious goal by 2027

In its “ecological transformation” plan, detailed Thursday at the National Museum of Natural History, the state aims to cut energy use by 10% between 2019 and 2024. By 2027, the goal is to reduce gas and electricity consumption by 25% compared to the previous year. 2022.

According to the latest available data, consumption by the government and its operators reached 20 terawatt-hours in 2019. “In 2023 we saved 150 million euros” on energy bills, welcomed Gabriel Attal.

Park consisting of 190,000 buildings

“This is unprecedented. 150 million euros is the cost of a new beautiful hospital, this is exactly what was saved for the state budget thanks to energy sobriety,” illustrated the Prime Minister. “We will continue this momentum in 2024 to achieve energy savings of 200 million euros,” he continued.

Despite these encouraging results, government measurement of energy use remains imperfect. According to the Ministry of Civil Service, the number of government buildings whose energy consumption can be monitored remotely and daily has increased from 5,000 in 2021 to 25,000 in 2024.

The state’s real estate portfolio includes only 190 thousand buildings, but only 80% of them are designed to be connected to a real-time energy consumption monitoring system, the ministry notes. In 2024, “900 million euros will be allocated for the thermal renovation of public buildings,” operations that should allow energy consumption to be reduced, Gabriel Attal detailed on Thursday.