With the approach of a winter under high tension on the energy supply, many companies are turning massively to this equipment.
While targeted power cuts are not completely ruled out for this winter, companies are opting en masse for the purchase of generators. “ Our sales have increased by 40% since August. Requests come from all sectors of activity, industry and agriculture. Business leaders are afraid of power cuts and that this will affect their activity too much or the maintenance of their stock, especially for cold rooms “, explains Pascal Verrière, manager of Pramac, manufacturer and seller of generating sets.
A concern actually shared by Bruno Lemaistre, director of Boizet establishments, specializing in the manufacture and marketing of dry hams. “ If refrigerators or dryers cannot operate for more than 24 hours, we may lose our stock of dry ham. On a single plant, this represents nearly 3 million euros of inventory. Such a loss would be tragic “, he explains. To avoid this, this entrepreneur has just acquired a generator for 40,000 euros. “ I would have liked to buy three but they are no longer available. “, he acknowledges. A difficulty in responding to all of the demand recognized by the Pramac company: “ We have made requests for supplies but some manufacturing products will not be available for several months “, recognizes the leader of the company.
Save money
Beyond the fears around potential power cuts that could occur this winter, the renewed interest of companies for generators can also be explained from a financial point of view. “Many companies contact us because using a generator would allow them to save money on their electricity bill“, highlights Éric Hunault, president of the Chaplain group, specializing in particular in the sale and maintenance of generators.
This is what convinced the manager of the Boizet establishments: “In August, our electricity bill quadrupled. With a generator it would have been cheaper“. According to data provided by the company Pramac, a generator with a power of 50kva, sufficient to supply energy to a small food area, costs 23,000 euros. The equipment must then be supplied with fuel oil or non-road diesel (GNR) at the rate of 8 liters per hour, which represents approximately 10 euros per hour.
A price that could still go up. “ Today, there are many manufacturers who are in the process of switching from gas to diesel, which is a real concern. They’re basing on diesel generators. Diesel, by the way, won’t be very good for CO2 emissions, because it’s just cheaper. Despite everything, things have gone up, things are going up, because as we see more and more industrialists buying diesel, European diesel prices are going up, and driving fuel oil somewhere “, warned this Wednesday, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, facing the National Assembly.
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For the moment, the companies interested in using generators are mainly medium-sized companies. “ With the extension of the price shield to small businesses, they are less affected. Large companies already have emergency generators“, specifies Éric Hunault, president of the Chaplain group. But some SMEs do not always have the means to equip themselves to meet their needs. “Companies buy what they can in terms of equipment. In the event of a cut or excessively high electricity bills, they will work in degraded mode“, describes Éric Hunault.