Using a kinematic approach, we study the evolution of a system of plates whose Euler poles and shapes are dictated by the requirement of toroidal-poloidal equipartition. Though no attempt is made to model the dynamical aspects of the problem and the time-scales involved, the simulations performed lead to configurations of plates which share with the currently observed one an excess of drift energy with respect to spin energy. The existence of fastly spinning plates seems to be in contradiction with the constraint of toroidal-poloidal equipartition. Their fate is to quickly disappear to prevent an excess of toroidal energy in the tectonic plates system. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union