The regulated electricity tariff will increase by 10% from August 1, a first step towards the gradual exit from the tariff shield desired by the government to ease the burden on public finances.
The annual bill of an average consumer heated with electricity will increase from 1,640 to 1,800 euros per year, according to government calculations.
However, he recalls that the State will continue to bear more than a third of the household bill (37% against 43% currently), guaranteeing the French one of the lowest prices in Europe.
The measure concerns households and small businesses connected to a meter with a power of less than 36 kilovolt-amperes.
EDF’s regulated tariff customers or those of a local incumbent supplier still represented the majority of the approximately 39.3 million electricity subscribers at the end of 2022, i.e. 23.1 million residential and non-residential customers, the others being in market offers, according to the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE).
The increase will be effective on August 1 despite the government’s promise to contain electricity prices at a 15% increase in 2023 as part of the tariff shield put in place to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis since autumn 2021 .
In the midst of soaring energy prices and even before the war in Ukraine, the government had announced a freeze on gas prices and a limited increase of 4% in the regulated price of electricity.
With this new increase, the regulated electricity tariff will therefore have increased by 25% in 2023.
The association for information and the defense of salaried consumers Indecosa-CGT denounced a “denial, by the government, of the word given to the French in terms of rising energy prices”.
The note could have been higher, since the energy regulator (CRE) recommended an increase of 74.5% including taxes. “We are still paying the price for last year’s energy crisis”, explained in particular the president of the CRE Emmanuelle Wargon on France info last week.
Gabriel Attal, then Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, warned in early July that “gradually leaving the tariff shield” by 2024 was necessary to “save money”.
The government has estimated its cost at 110 billion euros from 2021 to 2023. For the 2024 budget, its reduction should generate savings of nearly 14 billion euros, according to Bercy.
The next reassessment of the regulated tariff is scheduled for February 2024.
08/01/2023 04:34:18 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
