Electricity: a price freeze excluded by Bruno Le Maire, who reaffirms that the increase will not exceed 10%

Bruno Le Maire suggested on Monday that there would be no freeze on the regulated electricity tariff (TRVE) as requested by consumers, while reaffirming that the price increase would not exceed 10%. “We will discuss with the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic the final figure which will be retained, but I repeat what I have always said, which is that I keep my word there will be no increase in the price electricity by more than 10% in the coming days,” declared the Minister of the Economy during a trip to the Gravelines nuclear power plant (North).

The regulated electricity price, from which the majority of households benefit, is reviewed twice a year, on February 1st and August 1st. And, on Friday, the consumer defense association UFC-Que Choisir asked the government for a “freeze” of this regulated electricity tariff, while prices on the wholesale market have seen a clear relaxation in recent months after the historic outbreak of 2022.

“I have always indicated that we must collectively come out of the energy shields, we have all collectively spent more than 40 billion euros to pay the gas bill and the electricity bill of the French during the inflationary crisis, no other country “did that,” recalled Bruno Le Maire. “I have always indicated that this exceptional event cannot last, it is too costly for our public finances, it costs too much,” he added, emphasizing that “money does not fall from the sky” . For him, it is “too easy to suggest that we can spend billions and billions of euros” when there are “needs in hospitals, schools and public services”.

The executive has already almost doubled the gas excise - a tax paid by natural gas suppliers - since January 1, which should increase the bill for fixed-price gas subscribers, i.e. half of subscribers. approximately. In terms of electricity, it intends to raise the internal tax on final consumption of electricity (excise), which is currently 1 euro per MWh. Before the crisis, this was 22.5 euros.

“Many experts including myself believe that an increase in the excise on the electricity price would be a serious error at a time when we are encouraging people to electrify their uses for heating or vehicles,” had also estimated at the end of December by the analyst specializing in energy, Nicolas Goldberg, from the Colombus Consulting firm. “It would be a mistake to raise it to the previous level, because for two years, in 2022 and 2023, electricity prices have increased by an average of 30% in France, which is unheard of. The message sent by the government would be catastrophic,” he said.