A spacer for keeping a space between two substrates formed from glass sheets, more particularly a space of small thickness, generally less than a few millimeters, over the entire area of the sheet substrates, in a device such as a display screen, vacuum-type insulating glazing or a flat lamp, the surface of said spacer being at least partly electronically conducting, characterized in that said spacer is formed from a core not exhibiting electronic conductivity, the shape and the constituent material of which are chosen to provide the thermomechanical integrity of the substrates in the final device, said core being at least partly coated with at least one layer of a glass exhibiting electronic conductivity, and capable of giving the spacer electronic conductivity at 50° C. of 10−13 to 10 ohm−1.cm−1.