As France prepares to go through a perilous energy winter, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon “
on the energy situation
” in France.
Accompanied by the Ministers of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, and of the Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, she notably detailed the highly anticipated new outlines of the tariff shield for 2023. Here is what to remember from the announcements.
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LIVE - Elisabeth Borne announces the extension of the tariff shield in 2023 and energy checks
A tariff shield limiting price increases to 15% in 2023
Faced with still high energy prices, Elisabeth Borne announces the extension of the price shield for gas and electricity.
Concretely, the increase in gas prices will be limited to 15% from January 2023 and for the year, i.e. an increase of 25 euros per month and per household rather than 200 euros.
Regarding the increase in electricity prices, it will be 15% from February, or 20 euros rather than 180 euros, according to figures quoted by Elisabeth Borne.
According to Bercy's estimates, the tariff shield will cost 16 billion euros "
net
" in 2023, for a gross cost of 45 billion euros, "from
which we subtract the market mechanism
", specifies Bruno Le Maire.
“
To be quite precise, it will cost 11 billion euros for gas and 5 billion for electricity
,” detailed the minister.
As a reminder, in 2022, the increase in electricity prices for individuals had been blocked by the government at 4%, and gas prices frozen at the level of October 2021.
“
Exceptional energy vouchers
” for 12 million low-income households
Elisabeth Borne announced “
specific support for the most modest
”, which will take the form of “
exceptional energy checks paid by the end of the year
”.
This aid “
will concern the 12 million most modest households, and will be 100 to 200 euros depending on income
”, added the Prime Minister.
According to Bercy, this measure represents a cost of 1.8 billion euros.
Companies will continue to be helped
Bruno Le Maire also indicated that companies will continue to be supported in the face of soaring energy prices.
On the one hand, the 1.5 million SMEs with a turnover of less than 1 million euros and which employ less than 15 employees "
will continue to benefit from access to regulated tariffs
" for energy, indicated the Minister of Economy.
For larger SMEs, the aid, which can now reach 2 million euros, will be extended, from 1 October, to all those whose energy bills represent at least 3% of their turnover and who have saw their earnings drop over the course of a month.
Finally, aid for energy-intensive companies, which can go up to 50 million euros, must be reviewed “
from top to bottom
”, according to Bruno Le Maire.
“
We are in discussion with the European Commission, and we hope that they will be completed before the end of 2022
,” he added.
A communication campaign on eco-gestures launched on October 10
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transition, announced the launch on October 10 of a communication campaign on eco-gestures.
Called “Every gesture counts”, it will serve to “
inform the French people of the most effective gestures to reduce their consumption
”, specified the Minister for Energy Transition.
The government has also asked energy suppliers “
to be part of this process of sobriety in their communication
”, indicated the minister.
To raise awareness and inform consumers, the electricity transmission network operator RTE already relies on its Ecowatt tool.
Accessible from the monecowatt.fr website, it allows French people to know in real time the level of electricity consumption in France.
Three colors, green, orange and red, are associated with a level of consumption.
Green meaning that the electricity consumption is "
normal
", orange that the electrical system is "
tense
", and red "
very tense
", with a risk of cuts.
A similar device on gas should also be launched in October.
Avoid cuts
“
If everyone takes their responsibilities, there will be no cuts
” of electricity, insisted the Prime Minister.
The government is banking on energy sobriety, both for individuals and businesses, and has set a target to reduce energy consumption by 10% over two years.
But faced with the necessary reduction in energy consumption this winter, Agnès Pannier-Runacher insists on the fact that “
we will never ask for efforts from the French in a situation of fuel poverty
”.
“
We are calling on the major players, including the State, which will do its part”.
The government does not plan coercive measures for all that and counts on companies to make efforts of sobriety.
“We will not ask to stop production lines to reduce consumption
,” insists the Minister for Energy Transition.
The sobriety plans on which the state is working on one side, and the companies on the other, will still be presented “at
the beginning of October
”, announced Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
Asked about the possibility of switching off advertising screens, the Energy Transition Minister confirmed that the government had the power to "
order the extinction of all advertising screens (…) in the event of voltage on the electrical system
".
If “
the actors prepare for it
”.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher nevertheless issued “
a
caveat ”: “
some screens turn off with a manual action
”, she underlined, making this device inoperative for all screens.
By September 21, a decree on illuminated advertisements intends to harmonize the existing rules which already largely require their extinction from 1 a.m., but which now differ according to the size of the agglomerations.
European solidarity also appears essential, underlined the government.
According to Élisabeth Borne, “
only sobriety and European solidarity will allow us to avoid cuts and rationing in the most pessimistic scenarios, such as a particularly cold winter and supply problems
”.
EDF ordered to respect its schedule
On nuclear power, the government will be "
vigilant that EDF respects its schedule for restarting its nuclear reactors
", declared the Prime Minister.
Today, about half of the nuclear reactors in the French fleet (26 out of 56) are shut down for maintenance work or corrosion problems.
They should have restarted their electricity production during the winter, EDF management announced on Wednesday.
