Digital transformation of the energy sector[Transformation numérique du secteur de l'énergie]

What are the factors hindering the transition to a more efficient energy sector? This chapter attempts to answer this question for the period 1978-2016, based on a review of the literature on barriers to the adoption and use of energy efficiency products. We try to answer this question for the tertiary sector (48% of final electricity consumption in 2016). In doing so, we exaggerate the importance of barriers to the adoption/use of energy efficiency products. In fact, these products are offered in the tertiary sector after having been tried and tested, especially in manufacturing, where energy savings improve profits and competitiveness. This situation has been reinforced by the opening of wholesale markets to competition, which preceded the opening of the tertiary sector. We have selected a wide range of energy efficiency products (advanced meters, products connected to these meters, electric vehicles with on-board ICT, smartphone applications and dynamic tariffs, etc.). Having established the contribution of digital products to improving energy efficiency, we categorise the factors that hinder the use of these products and those that hinder their adoption. We will also shed light on the energy efficiency gap, a concept that refers to the lack of consumer interest in these products, despite the fact that they would benefit from them. We will also look at the brakes on innovation associated with the French policy of developing advanced meters and the rebound effect. We will also see that life-cycle thinking reveals the negative externalities associated with the digital transformation of the energy sector. Finally, we point out the limitations of the experiments on which the studies that conclude that consumers are interested in energy efficiency products are based.