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Energy prices: increase limited to 15%, energy check extended… government aid to get through the winter

2022-09-14T18:57:30.196Z


The government detailed this Wednesday the tariff shield which must partly protect the French from the surge in energy prices in


It will ultimately be a 15% increase.

After several weeks of procrastination, on Wednesday afternoon, the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, finally announced to the French by how much their gas and electricity bill would increase in 2023. The tariff shield, the tool which makes it possible to not not fully pass on energy prices to the French, will always exist, but not under conditions as advantageous as this year, budgetary rigor obliges.

"We are going to extend the mechanism in 2023 for all households, for condominiums, social housing, small businesses and the smallest municipalities," said Élisabeth Borne.

We are going to limit price increases to 15% for gas in January 2023. And to 15% for electricity in February 2023. 15% instead of 120% is the commitment we are making.

As a reminder, prices had increased by 12.6% in October 2021 for gas, and by 4% last February for electricity.

Before being frozen.

Read alsoEnergy vouchers, extended tariff shield, fuel oil and wood: what to remember from government measures

“Without government action, gas and electricity prices for households would be multiplied by 2.2 at the start of next year,” the Prime Minister reiterated.

Concretely, this should represent an increase of 25 euros per month for families who heat themselves with gas, instead of 200 euros.

On the electricity side, the bill will also increase by 20 euros per month for a household with an electric heating system, instead of 180 euros.

With a firm promise that no catch-up will be made, neither in 2024 nor in the following years.

Small towns will be protected

The energy check system will be expanded to target the most modest households, but also part of the middle class.

From 6 million households that could benefit from it until now, the system has increased to 12 million.

That is 4 households out of 10. The amount will depend on the conditions of resources.

For example, a single mother on minimum wage with two children will receive 200 euros.

A couple with two children earning 3000 euros net together will receive 100 euros.

For households that do not heat themselves with gas or electricity, the Prime Minister recalled that an envelope of 230 million euros had been released this summer by Parliament.

For her part, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transition, recalled that the energy check could also be used to “pay her fuel oil, wood or pellet bills”, the pellets used for stoves.

On the business side, SMEs with up to 10 employees and not exceeding 2 million in revenue (there are 1.5 million in the country) will also be able to continue to benefit from the system.

Just like condominiums, including those equipped with collective electric heating.

As well as the small towns, i.e. 30,000 out of the 36,000 that make up the French landscape.

Critics are already rising

Measures received in a mixed way by consumer associations.

“A 15% increase in energy bills, in an already inflationary context for other goods, is another blow to purchasing power, comments François Carlier, the CLCV's general delegate.

Even if we are aware that French households are among the best protected in Europe.

The association calls for structural reforms, in particular on the calculation of the regulated sales tariff (TRV) of electricity, developed above all to promote competition, to the detriment of the protection of households.

Read alsoTariff shield: "It's always better than nothing" ... The aid promised by Élisabeth Borne is only half reassuring

The cost remains.

It is evaluated by Bercy at 16 billion euros in total, including 11 billion euros for gas and 5 billion for electricity.

To which must be added 1.8 billion euros for the energy check.

Enough to fuel criticism of a device that supports households, but still penalizes the taxpayer a little more.

"I understand the urgency," said Jean-François Husson, Senator LR from Meurthe-et-Moselle, general rapporteur for the Finance Committee.

But I fear a new sprinkling of public money.

By these measures, we forget the essential, to make everyone aware of the economic and ecological issues.

While there is no magic money.

»

Source: leparis

All business articles on 2022-09-14

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