Icon News Public drinking water service: The Syndicat du Bas Languedoc renews its confidence in SUEZ for the next 13 years

Paris, January 12, 2022

Public drinking water services:

• • The Syndicat du Bas Languedoc renews its confidence in SUEZ
    for the next 13 years
• Creation of the first Single Operation Semi-Public Company (SemOp)
  drinking water aid society

The Syndicat du Bas Languedoc has entrusted the public service delegation of drinking water to the 27 municipalities1 which make up the “Eau du Bas Languedoc” mixed economy company (SemOp), 40% owned by the local authority and 60% by SUEZ. This new contract, generating cumulative revenue of 130 million euros, began on January 1, 2022, for a period of 13 years.

In order to measure its impact on the planet and on society, the SemOp “Eau du Bas Languedoc” becomes the first public utility company, under the Pacte 2019 law, in the field of drinking water.

Its objective is to: “Ensure access for all to a public service for the supply of drinking water, managed in a sustainable manner.

SemOp is committed to sustainable development: preserving resources by improving service performance and promoting consumption control, reducing CO2 emissions, improving energy efficiency and protecting biodiversity.

To achieve these objectives, SemOp will invest 26 million euros, over the duration of the contract, in the renewal and modernization of the Syndicat du Bas Languedoc facilities.

Solidarity pricing

Among the new features of the contract, households will benefit from a 10% reduction in their drinking water bill.2 This is made possible by a reduction in the drinking water charge and the tariff for the first cubic meters consumed (from 0 to 120 m3). This pricing encourages users, whether residents or tourists, to participate in the preservation of the resource by opting for reasonable water consumption.

In addition, a solidarity fund, to which SemOp and the Syndicat du Bas Languedoc contribute € 10,000 per year, will be set up to help the most disadvantaged people.

Preservation of resources

To cope with climate change and demographic variations, the “Eau du Bas Languedoc” company plans to implement an ambitious action plan to reduce water losses: enhanced detection of leaks, network monitoring with acoustic sensors, renewal connections, remote reading of consumption and expert tools for real-time monitoring of

1. The Syndicat du Bas Languedoc brings together the following municipalities: Agde, Balaruc-les-Bains, Balaruc-le-Vieux, Bouzigues, Cournonsec, Cournonterral, Fabrègues, Frontignan, Gigean, Lavérune, Loupian, Marseillan, Mèze, Mireval, Montagnac, Montbazin, Murviel-lès-Montpellier, Pignan, Pinet, Poussan, Saussan, Vic-la-Gardiole, Saint-Georges-d’Orques, Saint-Jean-de-Védas, Sète, Vias, Villeveyrac.
2. Based on consumption of 120 m3 drinking water.

SUEZ

Headquarters: Tour CB21 – 16 Place de l’Iris, 92040 Paris La Défense Cedex, France – Tel. : +33 (0) 1 58 81 20 00 – www.suez.com

SARL with capital of € 2,485,450,316 – Siren 433 466 570 RCS NANTERRE – VAT FR 76 433 466 570

the installations are factors which will make it possible to improve the performance of the network and thus ensure the availability of water resources and their preservation.

A modernized customer relationship adapted to all

SemOp will provide its subscribers with traditional physical reception desks as well as the most modern videoconferencing tools, suitable for all audiences (foreign languages, people with disabilities).

Thanks to the high performance of remote reading, an application will allow users who so wish to have access to personalized advice to reduce their consumption and their water and electricity bills.

The Illiwap application and the animation of social networks will ensure dynamic communication, aimed at more connected audiences.

Maximilien Pellegrini, Deputy CEO of SUEZ in charge of France: “Among the various innovations that SUEZ develops for its customers, contractual innovation is particularly important. I am proud to deploy today, with the Syndicat du Bas Languedoc, the first SemOp with a mission in France in the field of drinking water. This new contract demonstrates the community’s confidence in the SUEZ teams, and our Group’s ability to design solutions that meet the needs of the regions. “

Yves Michel, President of the Syndicat du Bas Languedoc: “We are happy to renew our partnership with SUEZ in a system of shared governance within a SemOp. The technological expertise of the Group and the pursuit of the general interest in a company with a mission allow the Syndicat du Bas Languedoc to achieve its social and environmental objectives. ”

• Eau Du Bas Languedoc “SemOp – key figures:
• 30 employees dedicated to SemOp
• Target of 91.5% total network efficiency 2034
• 850 km of drinking water network
• 50,465 connected meters serving 220,000 permanent residents, and more than 500,000 in summer season

About SUEZ:

Since the end of the 19e century, SUEZ has built up expertise aimed at helping people constantly improve their quality of life by protecting their health and supporting economic growth. Active on five continents, SUEZ and its 90,000 employees strive to preserve the natural capital of our environment: water, soil and air. SUEZ offers innovative and resilient solutions in terms of water management, waste recovery, site decontamination and air treatment, optimizing the management of the resources of municipalities and industries through “smart” cities and improving their environmental and economic performance. The Group provides sanitation services to 64 million people and produces 7.1 billion m3 drinking water. SUEZ is also a player in economic growth, with more than 200,000 jobs created directly and indirectly each year, and a supplier of new resources, with 4.2 million tonnes of secondary raw materials produced. By 2030, the Group is aiming for 100% sustainable solutions, with a positive impact on our environment, our health and our climate. SUEZ achieved total sales of 17.2 billion euros in 2020.

Find out more about the SUEZ Group

on the site and on social networks

SUEZ

Headquarters: Tour CB21 – 16 Place de l’Iris, 92040 Paris La Défense Cedex, France – Tel. : +33 (0) 1 58 81 20 00 – www.suez.com

SARL with capital of € 2,485,450,316 – Siren 433 466 570 RCS NANTERRE – VAT FR 76 433 466 570