With the rise in the price of electricity in recent months, operators are seeing their supply costs skyrocket. Also, Orange is preparing for voluntary Internet cuts in certain regions, in order to avoid a complete blackout. The firm expects the crisis to last until next winter.
If theincrease in the price of electricity affects homes above all, companies are also impacted by this crisis which has been going on for months. Operators, in particular, suffer particularly from this situation. Hardware production, network supply, data storage, telecoms have one of the largest electricity consumers in the country.
“We consume two terawatt hours (TWh) per year”explains Jean-Benoît Besset, director of network strategy at Orange, which corresponds to 0.4% of the country’s total electricity consumption. “In 2021, soaring prices had already resulted in an additional cost of several hundred million euros on our energy budget. For this year, we are already planning to double it. »
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Untimely cuts could soon occur on the Orange network
Thus, the operator expects “load shedding” In the coming months. Otherwise, the Internet network manager; could decide to make cuts in certain regions to avoid a complete blackout. Orange could then supply its datacenters with batteries, but this would not be suitable only for a few hours. “Afterwards, it puts our network at risk”emphasizes Jean-Benoît Besset, who also mentions the diesel solution.
Could this increase have an impact on the price of packages? While the latter have already been increasing for several months, the French are afraid to see their bills go up again. For the time being, Orange is benefiting from the reduction in the TICFE (domestic tax on final electricity consumption), which fell from 22.50 to 0.50 euro per MWh. EDF, which represents 70% of its supply, has also lowered its prices for manufacturers.
But Orange is not immune either. “It will be difficult because we are in France in an ultra-competitive environment, believes Jean-Benoît Besset. We find ourselves in a completely new situation.”. The crisis could last until next winterforcing all operators to revise their margins and investments downwards.
Source: Le Parisien