The electricity tax was reduced during the war in Ukraine to limit the surge in prices and to maintain the purchasing power of the French. This is what we call the tariff shield. However, today, the government plans to increase this tax again, so “that today, carbon-free electricity is taxed much more than other imported fossil fuels”recalls the president of the French Electricity Union Christine Goubet-Milhaud.
She calls on the government and parliamentarians to “show responsibility in this regard” and reminds that “depending on fossil fuels means accepting having energy that we consume, which is volatile”.
franceinfo : Do you understand that electricity producers and consumers are participating in this collective effort asked of the French?
Christine Goubet-Milhaud: First of all, I would like to come back to the electricity bill, because it is not that simple to know that it has three bricks, three components. A part production, supply of electrons, a second part on the transport, the distribution networks to the house or to the company. And the third part which is made up of taxes. This is what we are going to talk about.
The idea is to bring an additional 3 billion euros into the state coffers with this famous tax.
In the PLF 2025, it is still quite vague at this level. We intend to increase this level of tax from 25 euros per megawatt hour to 50 euros per megawatt hour, which would double this tax on carbon-free electricity. I insist on this point too. There is some vagueness. But we are waiting for the government to clarify, to have a form of transparency on the level of this tax increase.
“The tax part of the electricity bill is 11 times higher than for domestic fuel oil and nine times higher than for natural gas.”
Christine Goubet-Milhaud, president of the French Electricity Unionat franceinfo
The government cannot say this today, because the increase will depend on the increase in market prices. Can we understand that?
But double this fiscal effort to restore budgetary balance. Is this normal? We believe, as professionals, that the increase in taxation, which is already very significant, very heavy, should not burden the price of the service, production and supply, which make up the other two parts of the bill.
The UFC-Que Choisir association today denounces a tax scandal. Is she right to do so?
Yes, because it is an aberration, even an inconsistency. And I will give a second illustration, which is that today, carbon-free electricity is taxed much more than other imported fossil fuels.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher clarified that there would also be an increase in the gas tax.
I take note, but it still needs to be reflected in the bill. Today, it’s not there. Rather, we had the impression that there was a reduction in taxation on other imported energies. And it’s an aberration because carbon-free electricity is a tool for our energy independence.
“We must not forget that France’s trade balance is in deficit in terms of fossil energy imports, and in surplus in terms of carbon-free electricity production.”
Christine Goubet-Milhaud, president of the French Electricity Unionat franceinfo
So you think now is not the time to tax electricity?
If we want to prevent decarbonization, then let’s do it! Let’s tax carbon-free electricity. And there, indeed, the competitiveness between what we import and what we produce will be totally degraded.
Knowing that EDF will also participate in the effort with an exceptional dividend of 2 billion euros. Do you have the impression that electricity is particularly involved in this budget?
Above all, we are waiting for a form of consistency between the relative taxation of different energies, to encourage the French to change their consumption. Of course, there is sobriety, but there is also the fact of switching to electric solutions which mean that we will emit less carbon.
So it is not in line with our environmental ambitions.
We do not want the double penalty if, at the same time, we reduce support measures for households for the purchase of electrical solutions and increase electricity taxes. This increase will further reduce the capacity to modernize networks and invest in the national interest. Because it is our national interest to have carbon-free electricity production that we use in our energy uses.
“Today, two thirds of our energy uses in buildings, in mobility, in industry, still come from fossil fuels.”
Christine Goubet-Milhaud, president of the French Electricity Unionat franceinfo
The electricity bill will still drop, by around 9%, the government promises. What do you expect from the parliamentary debate today, since we know that the budget is not finished, it has only just begun.
With the French Electricity Union, we have been calling for many years for a structural reform of energy taxation, precisely to promote low-carbon electricity produced nationally, which creates jobs in our territories, rather than importing energy. fossils.
So it’s a long-term debate.
But there is an emergency, so how do we resolve this issue? Well, maybe with our backs to the wall, we will finally succeed in opening this site. And here, I call on all those of good will, and in particular parliamentarians, to demonstrate responsibility in this area. I call on the government to be transparent about the level of this tax increase, which is up for parliamentary debate. And in the meantime, we could perhaps maintain the level of taxation at its current level. And open this project to restore the attractiveness of electrification, in a logic of purchasing power, of control of our bill. Because ultimately, depending on fossil fuels means accepting having energy that we consume, which is volatile.