Starting Thursday, electricity prices will increase by almost 10%. To understand the origin of this increase, Franceinfo helps you decipher your bill.
An energy bill up by almost 10%. The government, which is gradually eliminating tariff shield in force since the fall 2021, announced an increase in electricity taxes starting Thursday 1st FEBRUARY.
In detail, the 9.3 million households subscribed to a differentiated rate between peak and off-peak hours will see their bill increase by 9.8% on average. For the 10.6 million households at the basic rate, the increase will be 8.6%. To better understand the ins and outs of this increase, Franceinfo helps you take a closer look at your bill and see how it breaks down.
A variable part linked to your consumption
Depending on the billing method chosen, invoices are sent every month, every two months or once a year. Monthly and bimonthly bills are established based on actual electricity consumption if you are equipped with a smart meter, as explained by the energy mediator and the EDF supplier. In this case, you only pay for the electricity consumed and the amount to pay fluctuates from one bill to the next. In the absence of a smart meter, part of your bills is calculated based on consumption estimates. If you want to avoid this, you can read your meter yourself and transmit the data to your supplier, underlines the mediator.
If you opt for a single annual bill, you pay a fixed amount each month, based on an estimate of your consumption. This option allows you to smooth out your energy costs throughout the year. Once the year is over, you receive an adjustment invoice with your actual consumption. If this is higher than the estimate, you will have to pay a catch-up. Conversely, if you have consumed less than expected, you will receive a refund.
On your bill, electricity consumption is expressed in kilowatt hour (kWh). She is multiplied by the price per kWh, which is regulated by the public authorities if you have opted for an offer at a regulated rate or set freely by the supplier if you have subscribed to a market offer. Furthermore, for “Base option” contracts, you pay for your electricity at a single price, regardless of the time of day you consume it. On the other hand, with a peak/off-peak contract, the price varies depending on the time of day when you consume energy. Your bill will therefore distinguish between your electricity consumption during peak hours and that during peak hours. Finally, this part of your invoice also includes part of the delivery costs.
A fixed subscription share
The subscription amount remains the same, regardless of the electricity you have consumed. Its price is established according to the power of the meter to which you have subscribed (between 3 and 36 kvA, for kilovolt-amperes, for individuals) so that your electrical installation functions correctly. The price option chosen also influences the subscription: it is a little more expensive in the peak/off-peak hours option than in the Base option.
The price of the subscription covers the maintenance of the meter and the network, as well as part of the electricity delivery, details the consumer association UFC Que Choisir. On your bill, the delivery costs are therefore divided between subscription and consumption. This part of the invoice also covers the supplier’s business costs, such as customer service.
Taxes defined by public authorities
The last part of your bill consists of taxes applied by public authorities. The increase in invoices which occurs from February 1 is linked to one of them: lhe internal tax on final consumption of electricity (TICFE) or “excise on electricity”. Before the energy crisis, its amount amounted to 0.032 euros/kWh, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission. In February 2022, to mitigate the effects of the price surge for consumers, the government willhad been reduced to 0.001 euro/kWh. With the end of the tariff shield, it rose to 0.021 euro/kWh in February.
A new increase in the TICFE will take place on February 1, 2025 to restore “the situation which was that before the tariff shield”, explained the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire. Before the surge in energy prices, which occurred in the second quarter of 2021, taxes represented around a third of the electricity bill, according to data from the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The TICFE, allocated to the state budget, is sometimes still called by its old name, “contribution to the public electricity service” (CSPE). It may be under this name that it appears on your invoice. According to estimates put forward by the Ministry of the Economy, the increase in the tax will result in an increase in bills of 17.80 euros per month for a household of four people who reside in a house heated with electricity and which consume on average 9,000 kWh/year. For a family of four heated by gas, with an annual electricity consumption of 3,700 kWh, the increase is estimated at 7.60 euros per month. For a single person in an apartment, the bill should rise from 4.50 to 8.30 euros per month, depending on whether the accommodation is heated with electricity or not.
The transport tariff contribution (CTA) is the second tax mentioned on your invoice. It finances the pensions of personnel in the electricity and gas industries before 2005. Unlike the TICFE, its amount is not proportional to your consumption. It is calculated on part of the transport price, and therefore depends on the subscribed power, details UFC Que Choisir.
Finally, value added tax (VAT) is applied at a reduced rate of 5.5%. on the amount of the subscription as well as on the CTA, and at a rate of 20% on the amount of your consumption and on the TICFE.
Information about your contract
Your invoice contains most of the useful information concerning your contract, such as your customer number or the means of contacting your supplier. The point of delivery (PDL), which appears on the first page, allows you to identify your accommodation. If this number is different from the one written on your meter, this means that there is an error and that“you are billed for the consumption of another accommodation”warns UFC Que Choisir.
For peak/off-peak contracts, the time slots are detailed on your invoice. If you have subscribed to optional services (insurance, breakdown assistance, etc.), they must also appear on the invoice.