“We will ensure that the energy shield blocks an increase,” assures the Minister of Energy Transition.
“Our decision is to ensure that by February 1, 2024”the electricity price “does not increase by more than 10%”, assured the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, guest on 8:30 am franceinfo Friday November 3. “We will ensure that the energy shield blocks an increase, even if prices on international markets are set to soar”she underlined, before adding that electricity prices “Today on international markets are weaker than in September”.
In September, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), whose mission is to calculate a theoretical tariff, based on market prices, nevertheless mentioned a potential increase in the regulated electricity tariffs (TRV) of the order of 10 to 20%. The head of the sector gendarme, Emmanuelle Wargon, declared during a press conference that an increase of ” 10-20% wholesale” was predictable, which had been immediately “excluded” by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire. Each year, on February 1 and August 1, the Energy Regulatory Commission makes a proposal to the government to update the regulated electricity sales tariff, according to changes in costs. The opinion of the sector policeman is submitted to the government which then makes the decision to apply a percentage increase.
Stable prices until the end of the year
“Prices are not going to move by the end of the year (2023), since the principle is that this energy shield is a cap on the price of electricity and it now allows the government to take responsible for 37% of the French bill”, specified the minister. However, the government increased electricity prices by 10% on August 1 as part of a gradual exit from the “tariff shield” put in place to limit increases due to the European energy crisis, against a backdrop of war in Ukraine and low availability of the French nuclear fleet. On this point, the Minister of Energy Transition also indicated that 36 nuclear power plants ” running at full speed. “We are much better than last year”she assured.
Energy prices soon at the heart of a conference
The conference on energy prices will be held “in the next two weeks”, announced Agnès Pannier-Runacher, charged by Élisabeth Borne with organizing it. The leader of the LR deputies, Olivier Marleix, had asked the Prime Minister to set up this type of conference in order to allow the executive to “share the government’s vision and what the legislative responses could be” to the rise in energy prices. According to Agnès Pannier-Runacher, “ the idea is to give visibility to elected officials”. ” I would like to invite all the group presidents, and it is important to involve local elected officials.”specified the minister.