Nicolas Dupont-Aignan criticizes the Linky meter rollout in France, alleging it imposes a €5.7 billion cost on consumers and suggesting these meters may have a shorter lifespan than older models. However, investigations reveal the actual cost is around €4.6 billion, with confirmed benefits including lower service costs and significant consumer savings. The meters are expected to last at least 20 years, and while savings have not fully met initial projections, the overall impact has been positive.
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan positions himself as a staunch critic of the Linky meter rollout in France. In a video that has garnered nearly 420,000 views, he claims that the installation has led to an additional burden of ‘5.7 billion euros’ on French consumers. He further argues that these new meters could last ‘four times less than the previous ones’. But is this a legitimate financial concern or merely misinformation? We investigated.
Cost Efficiency and Program Success
Firstly, Dupont-Aignan appears to be mistaken regarding the costs associated with this initiative. Although the initial estimate for the widespread deployment of Linky meters was indeed set at 5.7 billion euros, the actual expenditure has been reported to be 4.6 billion euros, according to the latest findings from the Court of Auditors. Their ‘final observations’ released on November 29 highlight that the program has, in fact, been deemed successful by most stakeholders involved.
All relevant authorities have confirmed that the implementation of these meters ‘does not lead to an immediate hike in electricity bills for consumers.’ A dedicated financing structure was developed in partnership with the Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure that the cost burdens on users align with the anticipated benefits from the project.
The advantages of this rollout are already apparent, as noted by the Court of Auditors. These include a ‘reduction in reading costs and minor interventions’, as well as a decrease in losses associated with ‘billing anomalies or errors.’ A significant portion of these savings has been passed on to consumers through lower service costs. For instance, out of 25 million services, over a third previously required consumer billing. Now that many of these services can be accessed remotely, they have resulted in an estimated direct savings of 83 million euros since 2017.
Overall, the Court of Auditors estimates that consumer savings since the introduction of Linky meters amount to approximately 9.7 billion euros. Additionally, the Agency for Ecological Transition (Ademe) suggests that French households can enjoy up to 10% savings on their electricity bills due to enhanced real-time consumption monitoring. However, the Court of Auditors does caution that these gains ‘have not yet met initial expectations.’ This shortfall is attributed to the energy crisis and significant price increases experienced in 2022.
Durability Concerns Addressed
Regarding the notion that these financial issues may be compounded by the meters’ quick obsolescence, our research found no supporting evidence. Enedis has stated that ‘the manufacturing requirements for Linky meters are consistent with those for traditional electric meters.’ This implies a lifespan of at least 20 years. This timeframe is also corroborated by a consumer guide released by Enedis in 2018. Although the longevity of Linky meters is yet to be fully established, initial sampling inspections on units deployed since 2015 indicate that they remain operational after ten years, according to Enedis.
In conclusion, as emphasized by the Court of Auditors, the mass deployment of these new connected meters has yielded noticeable benefits, attributed to reductions in reading costs, technical losses, and fraud. While the longevity of Linky meters is expected to match that of older models, it is ‘still too early’ to definitively assert that these trends will fully offset investment costs by the end of the program duration.
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