How to reduce the foreseeable rise in the regulated electricity tariff (TRV) from 44%, on February 1, to 4% as Jean Castex promised in September?
Bercy has just unveiled its solution.
“Between a significant drop in electricity taxation and the solution found with EDF, the French electricity bill will not increase by more than 4% over the whole of 2022
, detailed the Minister of the Economy. , Bruno Le Maire, in an interview with Le
Parisien
published Thursday evening.
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In the face of soaring energy prices, no other European country is doing so much to protect the purchasing power of its compatriots.”
These measures must also moderate the increase for companies, for some strangled by the energy crisis.
Consulted, the European Commission validated the package of French measures, according to the minister.
Selling at a loss
The State and EDF therefore shared most of the note, ie approximately 15 billion euros.
“It is a considerable effort by the State and EDF”
, summarizes Bruno Le Maire. Alternative suppliers (Engie, TotalEnergies, ENI or EkWateur) will also be involved, via a modification of the formula for calculating the revaluation of the TRV. A first technical measure which makes it possible to lower the price increase from + 44% to + 35% (excluding tax).
The State should support 8 billion euros in additional costs by reducing the tax on electricity from 22.50 euros to 50 cents per megawatt hour.
What bring the increase to + 20%, according to calculations by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE).
The State could then partially finance this tax reduction via the payment in 2022 of dividends by EDF, in which it is an 83.88% shareholder.
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As for EDF, it will have to sell more cheap nuclear electricity to its competing suppliers from April onwards, in order to limit their supply costs and enable them to moderate price increases for individuals and businesses. . The regulations require EDF to grant them 100 terawatt hours per year. It will exceptionally have to add 20 terawatt hours this year. The Energy Regulatory Commission will be responsible for ensuring that alternative suppliers benefiting from the extension of cheap nuclear electricity pass on this measure to their customers.
In return, EDF will still benefit from an increase in the price at which it sells this electricity. The price, unchanged since 2012, will therefore drop from 42 euros to 46.50 euros per megawatt hour. This will not be sufficient to compensate for the effort on the volumes of the electrician, but will however allow to limit its additional cost. In total, the electrician will suffer a shortfall of around 7 billion euros. It is for EDF a considerable operation of sale at a loss which is announced. Claiming to have already sold in advance all its volumes of electricity which will be produced in 2022, it will probably have to buy back a large part of its own electricity on the markets at prices between 150 and 200 euros, to resell it at 46, 50 euros to its competitors independent suppliers.
All of these measures should allow the government not to have to block the 4% tariff increase by decree, which would mean postponing the increase to 2023.