At first, this may seem like a sober technical policy. In daily life, it feels more like a small revolution in the living room.
Because electricity thus acquires a character that was previously more associated with plane tickets or hotel rooms: the price fluctuates according to demand. Whoever plans intelligently travels cheaply during the day. Whoever stubbornly consumes during peak hours pays more. It’s that simple.
Electric car owners especially benefit enormously. Some intelligent charging systems already automatically decide when it is the cheapest time to charge. Users give part of the control to the provider: the vehicle charges autonomously during the most economical time slots. For many, this sounds futuristic; for others, simply practical. “Plug in the car and forget” — something like that.
Of course, this model is not suitable for all households.
Those who work during the day, cook in the evening, and barely know how to program devices often save little. Some consumers even risk higher bills if electricity consumption remains mostly during expensive peak hours. The new tariff world rewards flexibility and punishes habits.
This is exactly where the major social change lies.
Electricity loses its character as a static basic commodity. It becomes dynamic, tactical, sometimes almost speculative. Consumers monitor apps, program devices, and shift routines to save a few euros. It may seem trivial, but it fundamentally changes the perspective on energy.
France is testing a model that will probably be adopted in many European countries. Because the more electricity comes from the sun and wind, the more important the question of when energy is consumed becomes, not just how much.
The electricity market of the future will probably not be created in power plants, but at half past two in the morning in a garage somewhere near Lyon.
Author: Christine Macha
In France, electricity suddenly takes on a new dimension: the time of day. For a long time, electricity was considered a commodity that simply came out of the socket, regardless of whether coffee was being prepared at seven in the morning or an electric car was charging at three in the morning. However, this way of thinking is now changing. Energy providers attract consumers with rates that at night seem almost like a bargain.
“Heures super creuses” is the magic word. Super off-peak hours. It sounds technical, but it is changing the daily life of many households.
TotalEnergies is especially aggressively promoting its “Charge’Heures” tariff. Between two and six in the morning, the price of electricity drops to a level that makes electric car owners smile. While considerably higher rates apply during the day, at night the kilowatt-hour costs only a fraction of that. The message is simple: those who live flexibly save real money.
And suddenly, the night takes on a new role.
Washing machines operate in the house’s night mode, water heaters come on just before dawn, and in garages electric cars silently absorb cheap electricity from the grid. France is experiencing a kind of silent shift in energy consumption: moving away from the afternoon frenzy to hours when until now almost no one thought about electricity.
However, the real driver behind this change is not in the marketing offices of the providers, but deep within the power grid itself.
France produces large amounts of nuclear energy and, at the same time, the share of renewable energies is growing. In particular, solar energy is causing there to be more electricity available at certain times than is needed. This is where the new pricing system comes into play: consumers must shift their consumption to times when the grid is relieved instead of being burdened.
At first, this may seem like a sober technical policy. In daily life, it feels more like a small revolution in the living room.
Because electricity thus acquires a character that was previously more associated with plane tickets or hotel rooms: the price fluctuates according to demand. Whoever plans intelligently travels cheaply during the day. Whoever stubbornly consumes during peak hours pays more. It’s that simple.
Electric car owners especially benefit enormously. Some intelligent charging systems already automatically decide when it is the cheapest time to charge. Users give part of the control to the provider: the vehicle charges autonomously during the most economical time slots. For many, this sounds futuristic; for others, simply practical. “Plug in the car and forget” — something like that.
Of course, this model is not suitable for all households.
Author: Christine Macha
Author: Christine Macha
At first, this may seem like a sober technical policy. In daily life, it feels more like a small revolution in the living room.
Because electricity thus acquires a character that was previously more associated with plane tickets or hotel rooms: the price fluctuates according to demand. Whoever plans intelligently travels cheaply during the day. Whoever stubbornly consumes during peak hours pays more. It’s that simple.
Electric car owners especially benefit enormously. Some intelligent charging systems already automatically decide when it is the cheapest time to charge. Users give part of the control to the provider: the vehicle charges autonomously during the most economical time slots. For many, this sounds futuristic; for others, simply practical. “Plug in the car and forget” — something like that.
Of course, this model is not suitable for all households.
Those who work during the day, cook in the evening, and barely know how to program devices often save little. Some consumers even risk higher bills if electricity consumption remains mostly during expensive peak hours. The new tariff world rewards flexibility and punishes habits.
This is exactly where the major social change lies.
Electricity loses its character as a static basic commodity. It becomes dynamic, tactical, sometimes almost speculative. Consumers monitor apps, program devices, and shift routines to save a few euros. It may seem trivial, but it fundamentally changes the perspective on energy.
France is testing a model that will probably be adopted in many European countries. Because the more electricity comes from the sun and wind, the more important the question of when energy is consumed becomes, not just how much.
The electricity market of the future will probably not be created in power plants, but at half past two in the morning in a garage somewhere near Lyon.