Prices considered “above ground”.
Hoteliers and restaurateurs are calling on the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire to renegotiate the prices of their contracts with electricity distributors, according to a press release released on Monday.
Catherine Quérard, president of the Group of hotels and restaurants of France (GHR) and Thierry Marx, president of the Union of hotel trades and industries (UMIH) denounce “contracts with
above-ground
prices ” and ask Bruno The Mayor to organize a meeting “as soon as possible”.
During this meeting, the UMIH and the GHR will be able, “under the aegis” of the minister, to agree with the main energy suppliers and distributors on the terms of contract renegotiation.
According to a survey carried out by the two unions at the end of January 2024, “more than half of professionals (59%) remain bound by energy supply contracts at extremely high prices, that is to say above 180 euros per MWh while the price of the MWh has decreased since the end of 2022 and it is less than half of this price.
“Dangerous” contracts
“10 to 15% of professionals would even be bound by contracts with prices exceeding 350 euros per MWh,” assure the professional organizations.
“These contracts are very dangerous because they weigh on the profitability of companies to such an extent that some are now unable to meet their operating costs and repay their debts,” warn the unions.
The “figure of business failures in the sector increased by 44.6% between 2022 and 2023 according to the Banque de France”, they write.
“Faced with this dizzying increase in the prices of energy, but also raw materials and personnel costs, professionals have not remained inactive,” declares Thierry Marx quoted in the press release, “They are trying to adjust their prices.
But increases cannot be the only answer, especially as they come up against the purchasing power of the French which has been contracting for months.
“It is necessary to update the charter signed by the main suppliers in October 2022, to bring on board all stakeholders in the energy sector and ask them to put in place a real mechanism for renegotiation of current contracts, with terminations without fees », estimate the UMIH and the GHR.