AFP

French sports and education groups expressed outrage Tuesday at the closure of around 30 swimming pools, after their operator said surging heating costs made them no longer viable.

“These closures directly impact all children and adults who won’t be able to learn to swim,” the French Swimming Federation (FFN) said in a statement, demanding the pools’ “immediate” reopening.

Vert Marine, which operates pools and ice rinks across France, said Monday that its annual energy bill had jumped to 100 million euros ($99 million) from 15 million euros — a figure it said equalled “the company’s entire annual revenue”.

The company said it was up to “local authorities and the government to take necessary and unprecedented decisions to get back to bearable energy costs”.

But local governments are themselves struggling to meet surging bills, which have doubled in some places, according to France Urbaine, a federation of large towns and cities.

Physical education union SNEP warned that pool closures during the coronavirus crisis meant there was already “a generation of 800,000 school pupils who were unable to learn to swim in 2020 and 2021”.

The sports ministry has also heavily promoted swimming as a way of preventing accidental drownings.

“Balancing the books for private companies that manage some pools shouldn’t come before the public interest,” the SNEP said, highlighting swimming’s “educational, health, leisure and safety benefits”.

Many of France’s pools and ice rinks are old and energy-intensive, and they are set to be studied in more detail by a government working group on saving energy.

From portable solar panels to smart thermostats and “intelligent” radiators, exhibitors at the IFA tech show in Berlin are touting smart solutions for an energy-starved world.

But the clever gadgets sometimes belie their hefty carbon footprint.

The motto for the 2022 edition of the German fair for cutting-edge technology — the first since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic — is “energy efficiency”, a timely mission with prices for electricity soaring. 

One such exhibitor which believes it has the answer is Busch-Jaeger, whose stand is carpeted in switches and small blank screens.

The German company, owned by the Swiss group ABB, has become a specialist in “smart home” technologies. 

Their idea: to regulate energy consumption at home on the basis of a stream of data, including the current ambient temperature, the light in the room and the quality of the air.

Such devices are “more and more sought after” as the cost of energy skyrockets in Europe, says Ulf Ehling, who is tasked with presenting the company’s technology at IFA. 

– ‘Crazy’ –

A few hundred metres away, the Norwegian company Mill is offering black and white “intelligent” radiators.

Thanks to a smartphone app, users can control the temperature in their homes over the course of the day.

According to Bashir Naimy, Mill’s technical director, the device can help save “37 percent of a household’s energy”.

IFA also boasts regular displays of eccentric gadgets, among them a fridge that cools a drink in “two minutes” or an odour generator for buying perfume online.

The French company Y-Brush has descended on IFA to tout a “sonic” toothbrush that looks like dentures, which is “capable of brushing all teeth at once in 5, 10, or 15 seconds”. 

Visitors to the fair, which closes on Tuesday, are, however, preoccupied by the question of energy usage.

“When you see how much all these devices consume it is crazy,” says Justin, 23, a tech enthusiast, who came to Berlin specifically for the show.

“We’re always thinking about that,” says Christoph Boettger, 39, who has come with his partner.

European energy prices have soared over recent months in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent throttling of gas supplies to Germany from Moscow.

The German government has launched an energy-saving campaign and tried to lead by example by reducing the temperature in public buildings, among other moves.

The energy conundrum worsened last week, as Russian energy giant Gazprom said it would not restart gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after a planned three-day maintenance, pinning the blame on Western sanctions.

– ‘Internet of things’ –

“Smart home technologies can help save energy,” Sara Warneke, the director of IFA’s organisers, said Friday.

But what is the real toll of these new energy technologies?

According to a 2020 report by the French Senate the “growth in greenhouse gas emissions” from digital technologies is driven by “the internet of things” — household electronics connected to the web — and the “storage of data”.

The two together could lead to a 60 percent leap “in the carbon impact of digital technologies by 2040”.

Despite the individual energy saving potential, the total impact of these technologies may be bigger than they first appear.

The Chinese company Ecoflow, which has offices across Europe, hopes to resolve the contradiction with mini solar panels.

The long, foldable rectangles that are carried around in a special case can be used to charge a lithium battery.

Their portability means users “do not need administrative authorisation to install them”, says Franko Fischer, Ecoflow’s spokesman.

The panels can generate 2,700 Wh, enough to charge a computer, a mobile phone or a hairdryer.

“We expect consumers in Europe to have high demand for solutions like ours, because people want to be independent, especially in a crisis,” says Fischer.

In Germany, the cost of electricity has risen on average by 31 percent in the year to August, according to price comparison site Check24.

South Africa’s economy shrank in the second quarter, as floods and an energy crisis put a halt to months of growth, official data showed Tuesday.

The dip in output after two consecutive quarters of modest growth dragged Africa’s most industrialised economy back below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

The official statistics agency StatsSA said gross domestic product retreated by 0.7 percent in the second quarter.

“The economy took almost two years to recover from the impact of COVID-19,” the agency said in a statement. “The recovery was short lived”.

Devastating floods that killed more than 450 people in the southeastern KwaZulu-Natal province and power cuts caused by a prolonged energy crisis contributed to the decline, “weakening an already fragile national economy”, the agency said.

“The flooding had a negative impact on a number of industries, most notably manufacturing,” StatsSA said. 

Damages to factories and plants, and disruptions to logistics and supply chains caused by the torrential rains, pulled national manufacturing output down by 5.9 percent, it said. 

Mining and the electricity, gas and water supply industry were hampered by weeks of severe rolling blackouts, known locally as load shedding, it said. 

Finland and Switzerland offered financial backing to utility companies on Tuesday, the latest energy firms in Europe to receive state support as gas prices have spiked since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The conflict has created a cash crunch for power companies in Europe, prompting governments in several countries to open credit lines in recent months.

The Swiss Federal Energy office said Tuesday that Axpo, a publicly-owned Swiss electricity group, will have access to four billion Swiss francs ($4.1 billion) in credit to ensure liquidity after it requested the temporary aid last week.

“The government responded favourably to avoid putting Switzerland’s energy supply in jeopardy,” the office said in a statement, adding that Axpo was an electricity firm of “systemic importance” for the country.

In Finland, utility group Fortum said it had agreed on a bridge financing arrangement with the state — which is also the majority owner — to “ensure access to sufficient liquidity resources” if power prices continue to rise.

The liquidity facility gives Fortum access to 2.35 billion euros ($2.34 billion) through state-owned holding company Solidium, but Fortum said “utilisation of the arrangement is a last resort.”

“The European energy crisis is a result of Russia’s decision to use energy as a weapon,” Fortum CEO Markus Rauramo said, adding that this has put his company and other Nordic energy suppliers “in a difficult situation.”

“There is great uncertainty in the market and energy prices have been record high,” Rauramo said.

Gas prices have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Utilities rely on futures markets to guarantee a certain price for their supplies. Under the contracts, they are required to put collateral upfront.

But if prices rise, a company is required to put up more collateral, creating a potential cash crunch.

Fortum said the collateral tied up Nordic commodities exchange Nasdaq amounted to around 3.5 billion euros as of September 5.

“Regulatory changes are urgently needed to curb the unreasonably high margining and collateral requirements,” Rauramo said.

– Europe-wide problem –

Other governments in Europe have offered billions of euros in loans to energy firms.

German energy giant Uniper said last week it would need an additional four billion euros in state-backed loans after already having used a nine-billion-euro credit line, following a July deal.

Fortum, which is the majority owner of Uniper, clarified in its statement that its arrangement with the Finnish state could not be used to cover Uniper’s needs.

Also last week, Austria announced a two-billion-euro loan for Wien Energie, the country’s main electricity provider.

At the weekend, Sweden said it would provide liquidity guarantees to Nordic and Baltic energy companies worth up to $23 billion in a bid to prevent a financial crisis sparked by Europe’s energy crunch. 

Independently of the agreement with Fortum, the Finnish government also proposed Sunday a rescue package of up to 10 billion euros in loans and guarantees for energy companies facing insolvency.

burs-jll/po/lth

European stocks rose Tuesday but gains were capped by Europe’s worsening energy crisis, economic slowdown fears and central bank efforts to contain surging inflation.

Frankfurt, London and Paris equities carved out gains nearing the half-way stage, despite poor German data and after tumultuous trading the previous day as Russia curbed gas supplies to Europe.

The euro climbed a day after hitting a 20-year low versus the dollar, while sterling was lifted by reports that new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss could freeze a looming surge in energy bills.

World oil prices slid on demand concerns, one day after jumping as OPEC and allies trimmed production in an attempt to lift the market. 

– ‘Wait-and-see mood’ –

“Investors remain cautious amid worries about the slowing global economy,” noted Hargreaves Lansdowne analyst Susannah Streeter.

“There is a wait-and-see mood hanging over markets.”

Frankfurt rebounded somewhat despite news that Germany’s industrial orders slumped for the sixth consecutive month in July.

That again raised the spectre that recession was looming in Europe’s biggest economy.

The European Central Bank was Thursday expected to hike interest rates to tackle surging eurozone inflation.

Eurozone stocks had tumbled Monday on heightened energy concerns after Russia said it would not restart gas flows to Germany and effectively most of the continent.

Russia’s decision — in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine — sent shock waves through trading floors as it ramped up expectations of a painful recession in major economies.

In Asia on Tuesday, Shanghai advanced after China unveiled fresh economy-boosting measures, but the overall picture was mixed.

Sydney dipped after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates to a near eight-year high and warned of more pain ahead.

Wall Street reopens Tuesday following a long US holiday weekend.

– Key figures at around 1010 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,309.63 points

Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 12,914.47

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 6,133.90

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.8 percent at 3,518.27

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 27,626.51 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,202.73 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,243.45 (close)

New York – Dow: Closed for public holiday

Euro/dollar: UP at $0.9938 from $0.9929 on Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.1598 from $1.1517

Dollar/yen: UP at 141.62 yen from 140.60 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.69 pence from 86.21 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $86.74 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.8 percent at $93.06 per barrel

burs-rfj/bcp/cdw