Local green power for local buyers
A new energy supplier, Ilek, allows consumers to buy green electricity from a local supplier of their choice, whether it is a neighbouring windfarm, solar power station or hydro-electric dam.
After signing supply deals with about a dozen renewable energy producers in Occitanie, Ile-de-France, Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur, Bourgogne, Franche-Comté and elsewhere it allows these suppliers to have a local contact with local buyers.
Electricity users are guaranteed prices that are up to 12% lower than the regulated market price even though their bills will include a €10 service charge to Ilek each month.
The company is part of the collaborative economy in linking up renewable energy suppliers with keen green-minded buyers and takes a step towards showing buyers’ wishes to end France’s reliance on ageing nuclear power stations.
At the moment about 20% of the energy ‘mix’ in France comes from renewables and the vast bulk of the rest from nuclear and Ilek aims to create a link between buyer and green producer by signing purchase deals with producers and supply deals with energy users.
The company says it is the first time this ‘direct selling’ of renewable energy to customers has taken place in France and that this allows it to cut out middlemen and reduce the cost of the energy supplied.
For energy suppliers, it guarantees buyers for the power they produce and, once costs for the Enedis and RTE national grid which transports all electricity are taken out, a fair return for their energy output.
