I have really mixed feelings about this announcement. France is the decarbonized powerhouse of Europe. However, the electricity price is regulated by the EU. It could be much cheaper if it wasn't.
Over the past few years, the retail electricity rate has increased by 30% causing struggles for households and many SMEs went bankrupted.
Retail electricity rate, as it stands now, does not enable France to be an attractive destination for AI datacenters. The government had to come up with special rates combined with tax wavering to convince private companies to invest in France. The signal that it sends to the French population is terrible. I am a big advocate for digital sovereignty, but I cannot help finding this situation totally unfair. Macron had the opportunity to revisit / renegotiate the electricity rate for everyone, but he decided to cut corners to please a few.
I have really mixed feelings about this announcement. France is the decarbonized powerhouse of Europe. However, the electricity price is regulated by the EU. It could be much cheaper if it wasn't.
Over the past few years, the retail electricity rate has increased by 30% causing struggles for households and many SMEs went bankrupted.
Retail electricity rate, as it stands now, does not enable France to be an attractive destination for AI datacenters. The government had to come up with special rates combined with tax wavering to convince private companies to invest in France. The signal that it sends to the French population is terrible. I am a big advocate for digital sovereignty, but I cannot help finding this situation totally unfair. Macron had the opportunity to revisit / renegotiate the electricity rate for everyone, but he decided to cut corners to please a few.
Surprising that Macron didn’t take this opportunity lower retail electricity rates if he had the leverage to do so.
I dont want to get in a political debate but Macron has always put Europe first...