The government is banging its fist on the table.
While the energy suppliers had signed a charter at the beginning of October, some seem not to respect all of their commitments.
To discover
Withdrawal period, termination of subscriptions... What will change for consumers in 2023
The professionals were received this Tuesday afternoon by Bruno Le Maire, Minister for the Economy, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transition and Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Trade, Crafts and Tourism in order to come back to "
commercial practices and the implementation of government support measures in the face of rising energy prices
".
Bruno Le Maire didn't mince his words when addressing the energy suppliers who would fail to comply with this charter.
“
Those who do not respect it will have their names disclosed publicly so that each customer knows who is behaving well and who is not respecting the rules
”, warned the Minister of the Economy.
This charter includes three commitments: each supplier must offer at least one offer to its customers.
Then, suppliers must notify their customers two months before the renewal of their contract.
"
This should allow companies to make comparisons and open up competition with other suppliers
," said the Minister of the Economy.
A rule that some professionals in the sector seem to have somewhat forgotten since Bruno Le Maire pointed out on Tuesday that "
some suppliers send a contract to their customers, leaving them only a few hours to sign
it ".
Finally, suppliers must submit an offer on a date agreed in advance.
Another way for the government to push companies to make comparisons between the different offers from suppliers.
Three new commitments for SMEs
To this initial charter were added three new commitments made on Tuesday by energy suppliers to SMEs.
"
They will include on the January invoice the benefit of the shock absorber which could represent on average a reduction of 20% of the price of the invoice
", declared Bruno Le Maire.
As a reminder, through this aid, the executive bears part of the bill for VSEs that do not benefit from the tariff shield because they have an electricity meter with a power exceeding 36 kVA, SMEs, associations with more than ten employees, local authorities and public establishments.
"
Energy suppliers have undertaken to grant payment facilities for companies that have cash flow difficulties
", continued the Minister of the Economy.
To help suppliers deliver on this promise, the government will vouch for suppliers for companies that cannot find one.
Read alsoThe government supports bakers against energy suppliers
Finally, while concern is palpable within the bakery profession, energy suppliers will have to allow them to terminate their contracts free of charge in the event of a "
prohibitive
" increase and insofar as it "
threatens the survival of the company
", announced Bruno Le Maire.
This “
exceptional
” measure, which exclusively targets bakers, will be applied “
on a case-by-case basis
” by energy companies, however, warned the number 2 of the government.
