The Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) announced on Thursday September 14 that three alternative electricity suppliers were in its sights. The reason is the fact that they have not given their customers all the guarantees linked to the passing on of the rebates granted by EDF. At the heart of the matter, the Arenh, a mechanism which forces the historic operator EDF to sell electricity at low prices to its competitors, for a certain volume.
At the start of 2022, faced with soaring energy prices, the government forced EDF to sell more, thus putting it to work to contain the bills of individuals and businesses. These are these additional volumes received by three operators for which “the controls carried out by the CRE did not make it possible to ensure that the repercussions had taken place correctly”: “These are Elmy Fourniture (formerly GreenYellow), of Mint Energy and Sagitterre (which markets electricity under the “Chez Switch” brand),” indicated CRE president Emmanuelle Wargon during a press briefing.
“These three suppliers have failed to justify that they returned this money to consumers,” she said. In this case, the sum of 34 million euros of additional Arenh (Regulated access to historic nuclear electricity), out of 4.1 billion euros allocated to alternative suppliers.
With the exception of 34 million euros, Emmanuelle Wargon assured that “this money has been fully returned to consumers”: “We are at 7.9 billion euros in bill reductions transferred to consumers thanks to the Arenh », via the alternatives and EDF itself, she indicated.
Usually very discreet about the names of the companies it is investigating, the CRE hopes that “saying it publicly” will generate “a little more justification” from those interested, for whom it is studying the possibility of requesting information. sanctions.
The CRE had already opened investigations, this time for abusive practices, against three other alternative suppliers. One of them, Ohm Energie, is suspected of having bought cheap electricity and having resold it on the markets at a higher price instead of passing it on to its customers, facts that he disputes.
These investigations “are in the process of being closed”, indicated Emmanuelle Wargon, who plans to refer the matter to an independent body, the Committee for Dispute Resolution and Sanctions (CORDIS), which could impose fines if “Arenh’s manipulations” by these suppliers are confirmed.
