2023-10-30 22:07:00
The meeting of the Moutier City Council was shortened Monday evening. An elected official fell ill around 9 p.m. while the debates were focused on the PCSI motion for the organization of a weekly market in Moutier. The counselor received treatment before being evacuated by ambulance. The party presidents unanimously decided to suspend the session.
Before this unfortunate event, the members of the City Council debated the district heating project at length. In gestation for around ten years, the latter provides for the establishment of a boiler room in the Laives district, the development of a large network and the creation of a limited company to ensure its management. A public-private partnership between the municipality and the EBL company. The total budget for this project amounts to 34 million francs. In detail, 25 million francs will make up the share capital, therefore 10% covered by the Municipality. The missing 9 million must be generated by cash flow during the first years of operation.
Lots of questions
For city councilors, it was therefore a question of validating this 10% participation, or 2.5 million francs. If all parties agreed on the importance and relevance of such a project, there were many questions. They focused in particular on potential customers of the future network. According to the rules presented, the project can only start if 60% of the heating power is sold contractually beforehand, or around 7 megawatts out of the 14.5 planned. However, currently, contracts have only been signed for barely 170 kilowatts. “The prospecting continues,” reassures Karim Bortolussi, municipal councilor in charge of the file. The project leaders are giving themselves 12 to 18 months to find a sufficient number of customers. In particular, they will have to convince local manufacturers, some of whom do not seem interested at the moment.
The other main fear is financial. In the midst of recovering its finances, is the city of Moutier able to invest so much in this project? Here once more, Karim Bortolussi tempers: “It’s a cash investment, there is no depreciation planned. Interest is already included in financial planning. » And to add that the legislature is not taking any risk by validating the credit: “If the famous critical mass of 60% is not reached, the amount will not be committed. » An argument sufficient to reassure the elected officials, who accepted the credit by 29 votes to 8. However, there remains another pitfall, and not the least: the Prévôtois will be called to the polls next year to decide on this expenditure of 2, 5 million francs. If this new step is reached and if a number of potential customers are found, the Moutier district heating might be put into service during the winter of 2025-2026. /oza
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