SUEZ, second energy producer in France
For SUEZ, liberalization of the French energy market, Europe's second largest after Germany, represents — - over and above the industrial and commercial challenge — - a challenge for the Group's image. Best known to municipal authorities for its activities in the water and waste management sectors, SUEZ has set itself an objective of moving into the front line in the energy field.The Group entered a new phase in 2003, benefiting from the strong presence already established by Elyo and Fabricom in energy services and a growing involvement in cogeneration, increasing its generating capacity beyond its participation in the Chooz and Tricastin nuclear power plants. Electrabel signed two partnerships agreements with the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) and the Société Hydroélectrique du Midi (SHEM) giving it 35% of France's hydroelectric generating capacity. CNR, France's only producer of energy certified 100% renewable, has alone 19 dams representing one-quarter of the country's hydro-generated electricity.Having become France's second largest energy producer, with 7% of the country's capacity, SUEZ now has a number of advantages on the French market: energy that is competitive; that is “green”; sold at favorable prices; and combined with energy services via global partnerships. In commercializing its services, the Group is looking to eligible professional clients, with a focus on local authorities (its main partners in the past) and local distribution enterprises companies such as the Syndicat Intercommunal d'Energie in the Deux-Sèvres region of France, with which SUEZ created a mixed economy company in 2004.
