Ms Severine Blot, head of sustainability for Serma Ski Lift, one of the big ski-lift companies in the valley, said 70 per cent of the energy used on the pistes is dedicated to running the ski lifts and cable cars.
Her costs are going up – for every 1 euro (US$1.08) they used to spend on energy, they now have to spend nearly 4 euros (US$4.30).
In response, her company has lowered the heating in buildings where ski staff work. It has also cut how long they spend reheating ski-lift machinery in the morning.
“Here, everything is heated by electricity. For us, for our activity, the biggest use for the heating is also for the chair lifts, for the stations to make sure we will be able to start in the morning, to have the moving parts not freezing all night, so this was the biggest impact,” Ms Blot said.
COLLECTIVE ACTION NEEDED
The tourist office has turned down the heating in municipal buildings and lowered the temperature of the public swimming pools.It is also encouraging people in chalets and hotels to turn the lights off and the heating down.
Ms Sara Burdon, communications manager at the Morzine tourist office, said individual and collective action is needed to bring down energy costs.
“We’re relying on individuals to keep their windows shut, to not turn up the heating to full blast, but to make an effort the same as the businesses are trying to ensure that we can all work together to lower energy use,” said Ms Burdon.
There are efforts to follow the government’s call to save energy being made across the village.
“We do turn the lights off the whole time to save power and we put the radiators on the lowest setting possible when guests aren’t in, and there are also a few other requirements with turning stuff off in the kitchen but nothing too drastic as of yet,” one hotel worker said.
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