This is one of Emmanuel Macron’s commitments, at the end of the Council for Ecological Planning, on Monday: a “resumption of control of the price of electricity”. Left-wing MPs are skeptical.
The promise was made by Emmanuel Macron at the end of the Ecological Planning Council, meeting Monday September 25: the president will announce, in October, the terms of resuming control of the price of electricity, in a context of inflation and prices which remain high.
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The left-wing deputies denounce a double discourse: for the rebellious Aurélie Trouvé, the head of state “just had to vote with us to leave the European electricity market! They [la majorité] fought against us! I stopped – and I think this is the case for most French people – believing Emmanuel Macron’s marketing.“Same story with the socialist Arthur Delaporte: for him, the head of state should have”vote the law which was brought by the socialists and Philippe Brun to the National Assembly, which aimed precisely to regain control of electricity production.”
Environmentalists, for their part, above all want to know more: when, how, for whom? “He says: ‘We’re taking back control,’ but it’s completely unclear how he’s going to do it,” declares EELV MP Eva Sas, who fears an announcement effect. The same for her colleague from the environmental group, Sabrina Sebaihi: “Energy prices must be regulated. Now we don’t know what it’s going to land on. Will it lower the bill, or will we stay at a price as it is today, saying to ourselves: we block at this price, we stop and we see how it goes happens ?“These deputies especially denounce a “Prévert-style inventory” instead of strong announcements.
“The mechanism has already been found,” assures the ministry
The choice of electricity must also be that of purchasing power, explains the office of the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier Runacher. It is a question of confidence and visibility, according to her, for companies and individuals alike to make the switch to electric. And the Elysée insists: we have cheap, carbon-free electricity, 70% of which comes from our nuclear fleet, this must be reflected in the bill.
Except that EDF and the State – now a 100% shareholder of the company – do not agree on the future setting of electricity prices, hence this presidential pressure and this tight timetable. “The mechanism is already found” specifies the office of the Minister of Energy Transition. It remains to specify the terms, or even to have them accepted by European partners (starting with Germany) with whom it is difficult to find common ground on a reform of the electricity market in Europe.