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On May 6, Marie-Line Bassette, regional director of EDF Archipel Guadeloupe, visited Saint-Barthélemy accompanied by a delegation from the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) consisting of Emmanuel Massa and Ophélie Painchault. The purpose of the visit: to allow the two members of the regulatory commission’s technical teams to “confront the physical reality of the project,” explains Marie-Line Bassette. The project in question is, of course, the reconstruction of the Public power plant.
“These are two people who are very familiar with the project since they worked on renewing the agreement between the State and the Collectivité,” says the EDF regional director. “But they hadn’t been here in two years. The idea was to see how things are on the ground. Because we’re dealing with a complex operation. Rebuilding a power plant on-site while continuing to generate electricity is very unusual. They were able to see firsthand everything that’s planned.”
The essential need for energy efficiency
After a tour of the Public power plant, the delegation drove up to the Gustavia lighthouse site. “They were able to see how cramped the terrain is,” notes Marie-Line Bassette. The visit continued with a meeting with the president of the territorial council, Xavier Lédée. This provided an opportunity for the EDF regional director to raise her concerns regarding the future temporary power plant. “We’re currently conducting studies in Saint Martin for temporary power plants,” she explains, “and every time we delve into the details of the project and its implementation, additional constraints emerge. So for Saint Barth, we’re planning to consult with bidders for the temporary plant early on to avoid any last-minute surprises.”
In addition, Marie-Line Bassette notes that the meeting was also an opportunity to reiterate the urgent need to control energy consumption on the island. “Because once we have this temporary power plant, we won’t have any other options—no room for expansion,” she points out. “We’ll be limited. Even today, when there’s an incident, we rely on load shedding to avoid cutting power to customers. So we had a discussion within the Collectivité about the actions being taken regarding energy conservation and the development of solar power. It’s a real issue, and we need to get the message across. Either we practice this energy conservation, or we’ll run out of electricity.”
Since the signing of the agreement between the State and the Collectivité on January 26, the project has entered a phase of implementing the multi-year energy plan (PPE), the regional director emphasizes. “EDF teams have reactivated all stakeholders, including the engineers who were working on the project,” she assures. “To begin the preliminary work phase: sizing, site selection. We’re moving into the detailed study.” She emphasizes a crucial point: “The Collectivité must also urgently address the relocation of the network and customer service office, which needs to be moved. We need to establish a schedule for this move. Until a new site is secured, that means we cannot demolish this part of the plant. We are entering a phase of project implementation. For the temporary plant, we need to know when it will switch to another site. So that we can begin consultations with bidders and set up that location.”
In short, the ship has now set sail. It is moving at cruising speed, but there is no room for dawdling. Because every hesitation and every delay will have structural—and, of course, financial—consequences. For the record, the total investment for the plant’s reconstruction has been estimated at nearly 400 million euros. The Collectivité is expected to invest approximately 50 million euros.
