August 2006
Summary
Réalités industrielles
High-cost energy and public regulation
Complete issue
Editorial
By François Valérian
Rédacteur en chef des Annales des Mines
Energy policy and the high price of energy
By Dominique MAILLARD
Directeur général de l’énergie et des matières premières
Ever rising energy prices can mainly be set down to insufficient investments at various points in the chain of production. In combination with geopolitical or climatic circumstances, this spawns uncertainty about how energy will reach final consumers. France’s energy policy act of 13 July 2005 has set four principal orientations: control the demand for energy, diversify the supply (by increasing recourse to replenishable sources and by keeping the nuclear option open), develop research and, in general, improve the security of supply lines. In January 2006, the French government published a memorandum in order to “relaunch a European energy policy in view of sustainable development”.
Another transition in energy
By Alain BELTRAN
Directeur de recherche au CNRS-IRICE
Turmoil in “macroenergy” is occurring along with institutional changes that the French do not always unanimously follow. Habituated to the “French public service model”, which has maintained a fair level of prices and a constant supply of energy insofar as possible, the French are discovering a complex system that hinges ever more on services rather than prices: the “culture” of competition, complementarity and service. We must learn to sell and not just produce, to accept newcomers and become flexible.
Oil prices and economic growth
By Denis BABUSIAUX et François LESCAROUX
Institut Français du Pétrole
There is no limit to the sources of hydrocarbons (whether pumped out of the earth or produced in factories) for the next few decades, but there is and will be a need for increasingly complex and costly techniques as the usual sources of petroleum run out. Does this mean that prices will keep on rising? Probably, since environmental costs must be added onto direct costs. The mining of oil out of “tar sands”, for example, or the production of hydrocarbons by the chemical industry will have a significant impact owing to the emission of greenhouse gases. If prices do rise in the short or middle term, the cause will have to do more with the calendar of investments than with the availability of energy and its costs. In the long run however, price hikes are not all that certain. A few points for analyzing and predicting the macro- and microeconomic effects of fluctuating oil prices…
Electricité et politique énergétique : spécificités françaises et enjeux dans le cadre européen
By Sylvie SCHERRER
DGEMP, Observatoire de l’Energie
Les choix faits par la France dans sa politique énergétique en matière d’électricité (efforts de maîtrise de la demande, large place accordée à l’électricité et prépondérance du nucléaire) ont limité sa facture énergétique et accru son indépendance énergétique. Ils ont également contribué à maintenir des prix plus bas et moins volatils que ceux de ses partenaires commerciaux, améliorant ainsi la compétitivité des entreprises et limitant l’exposition de l’économie au risque « prix ». De même, ils se traduisent, toutes énergies confondues, par de faibles émissions françaises de CO2 par rapport aux autres pays développés et une place de plus en plus importante accordée aux ENR dans le bouquet énergétique.
Faits et chiffres pour 2005
Bilan énergétique provisoire de la France pour 2005 : synthèse
Autres articles relatifs au bilan énergétique 2005 : évolution annuelle, facture énergétique en 2005, l'électricité, le gaz, les combustibles minéraux solides, les hydrocarbures, les énergies renouvelables
By Richard Lavergne, Louis Meuric et Observatoire de l’Energie.