Published on November 14, 2023 at 5:37 PMUpdated on November 14, 2023 at 5:45 PM
It’s getting more and more exciting in Bercy. This morning, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, announced the broad outlines of the agreement reached with EDF to replace the ARENH system (Regulated Access to Historical Nuclear Energy), which results from an agreement reached with the European Commission and that will end on December 31, 2025.” It was unthinkable to leave the French market without regulation! Otherwise we would have been exposed to far too high volatility », the minister stated on Tuesday, November 14, during the joint press conference with Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Energy Transition, Roland Lescure, Minister of Industry, and Luc Rémont, Chairman and CEO of EDF. The State and the energy company, of which it is a 100% shareholder, have decided to “ a guaranteed price 70 euros per megawatt hour “, instead of… Today 42 euros, or an increase of almost 70%. An outbreak that will partly be reflected in the French bill.
Single price
“ The biggest benefit of this agreement for households will be a stable priceargued Bruno Le Maire. You will no longer suffer from periods of price spikes. We introduce permanent consumer protection in the field of electricity prices “. Since the agreement concluded a few weeks ago with the European Union,which decouples electricity prices from gas prices, it was necessary to introduce a replacement system. A real headache for the government, which must maintain EDF’s margins and limit the damage to the wallets of consumers and small businesses.
In detail, the new device is not the simplest. “ As soon as prices significantly exceed 70 euros per MWh, a mechanism for fixing rent is created [NDLR : une taxation des revenus des producteurs] will be set up to be distributed directly to consumers, and not to alternative suppliers », Brushed Agnès bicycle bag-Runacher. Through this mechanism, the government wants to ensure a certain stability of energy prices.
We have concluded an agreement between the State and EDF that will allow France to remain one of the most competitive countries in Europe in electricity. It lays the foundation for the new French regulation of nuclear energy and brings EDF into the 21st century. ↓
— Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire) November 14, 2023
Consumers deceived?
Why don’t we maintain the price shield? Without him, all consumers would have seen their bills double! » once again welcomed Bruno Le Maire, before acknowledging that “ This shield has a shortcoming: it will have cost almost 40 billion euros “. On January 1, 2026, a uniform rate of 70 euros per megawatt hour will be introduced, but that is far from unanimous. “ The state and EDF conspire at the expense of consumers to charge an exorbitant price for nuclear energy!immediately denounced the CLCV (Consumption, Housing and Living Environment) association. 70 euros per MWh, this exceeds the assessment of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), which already seemed excessive to us [entre 60 et 70 euros]. Neither the state nor the CRE are shocked by the fact that in the United States and Finland the price of nuclear energy is around 30 euros per MWh. They put a double burden on us by telling us that this is all very objective… According to the association, household bills will inevitably rise over 10%.
Ironically, another press conference was held at the same time to mark Fuel Poverty Day, which will take place on Thursday 23 November. “ In 2023, 31% of French people will have had difficulty paying their energy bills. This is a figure that is rising sharply. In 2020 this was 18%warned Christophe Robert, general delegate of the Abbé Pierre Foundation. Despite the shield, this could not prevent the energy bill from rising by an average of 306 euros »… I am not sure whether the foundation appreciated the State’s announcements, which in particular call for a tripling of the energy voucher.