More than a third of the stations are renegotiating their energy supply contract, with strong increases in perspective.
by
“Say it well, it is out of the question to close our stations!” Fabrice Boutet, Director General of Sata Group, operating company of the Skiables of the Alpe-d’Huez and Deux-Alpes, in the ‘Isère, and La Grave, in the Hautes-Alpes, is reassuring. Some media outings, in early September, including that of the Directorate of the Domaine de Villard-de-Lans (Isère), explaining that the outbreak of energy prices hypotheked the opening of the station this winter, annoyed in the world of white gold.
Stations found themselves managing the worried calls for customers wanting to ensure that their next vacation were not threatened. So, since then, the time has been more discreet and repeated employment in the discussions of “sobriety” praised.
According to the France Mountains association, 10 million tourists frequent ski resorts each winter, most of them in the French Alps, which have a little less than 200 stations, the largest concentration on the national territory. All are subject to a delegation of public service forcing to consider their ski lifts as means of transport, in the same way as the bus or the metro, and therefore making their opening up. And this has a cost, which risks flying with the outbreak of energy prices.
“our invoice would go from 2 million to 20 million euros”
If many operating companies have an energy supply contract until the least at the end of 2023, others are currently in full negotiations. They would be between 30 % and 50 % in this case. Sata Group is one of them, her contract ending on November 30. “We have a turnover of around 100 million euros, explains Fabrice Boutet. If we take the energy price today, our electricity bill would go from 2 million to 20 million euros. We will open, in any case, the stations, but, obviously, this situation will put the company in difficulty. “
The latest government announcements have not reassured him, he who is still waiting for details on the price shield: “At what level will it be applied? For what type of business? Imagine that we cannot Investing because of these price increases, while we are in strong development, the whole sector behind will suffer. “
In Chamonix (Haute-Savoie), the Mont-Blanc company, which manages the domains of the Chamonix and Megève valley, is in a more comfortable situation: its short contract until the end of 2023, at Price of 53 euros per megawatt hour. “We were visionary … or we were lucky. In December 2021, EDF alerted us to a risk of increase. Their advice was precious to us,” said Mathieu Dechavanne, CEO of the company, who spends 2, 5 million euros each winter in its energy bills (out of 68 million euros in turnover).
You have 41.8% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.