The EDF Cordemais power station, in 2019. -

SEBASTIEN SALOM GOMIS / SIPA

  • For 10 years, this regulated electricity tariff has increased much faster than inflation.

  • The increase in taxation, but also the desire to preserve EDF's competitors, explain these increases.

  • Despite this, the price of electricity in France remains 14% lower than the European Union average.

January is the season for wishes and good resolutions.

This is also the time when electricity prices are re-evaluated, often on the rise.

According to

Le Parisien

, this is also what will happen in 2021. The newspaper, which is based on simulations carried out by the supplier Planète Oui, foresees an increase "of at least 2%" of the "regulated tariff sales' (TRV) early next year.

An increase far from trivial, since 23 million households (representing 71% of the French) are subscribed to the TRV, also called "blue tariff".

For several years, the latter has been increasing much faster than inflation.

In other words, the electricity bill weighs more and more heavily for the wallet of the French.

To be convinced, just do a simulation on the website of the National Energy Mediator.

The CSPE, an impressive increase

Let us take as an example a private individual who would have subscribed since 2010 to the “basic” tariff, with a conventional power of 6 kVA, and who would have an average annual consumption (2267 kWh).

According to the simulator, its electricity bill rose from 332 euros in 2010 to 481 euros in 2020. That is an increase of 44.6% over ten years, while at the same time, inflation barely reached 10%.

How to explain such an outbreak?

To understand, you have to look at what is behind the price of electricity.

Three main components determine it, almost in equal parts: the “supply cost” (production of electricity, maintenance of power plants…), the cost of the network (high voltage lines for example) and taxation (VAT…).

Wobbly competition

Between 2009 and 2016, the increase in the price of electricity is mainly due to the increase in the latter item.

As explained by INSEE in a study published in 2019, the Contribution to the public service of electricity (CSPE), which is part of the taxes charged to customers, was indeed multiplied by five during this period, to represent 12 % of the total bill.

The CSPE was originally used to finance renewable energy.

Since 2017 it has been paid directly to the general state budget.

After 2016, invoice increases are mainly linked to those in supply costs.

Thus, in 2019, consumer associations rose up when prices rose by 5.9% suddenly.

While a part (40%) of this surge is linked to the increase in prices on the wholesale electricity market (where suppliers are supplied), another part (also 40%) comes from the mechanism of " contestability ”set up to allow operators competing with EDF to offer attractive prices.

This means that these operators can buy a share of nuclear energy - cheap - from the incumbent and then sell it back to their customers.

But due to high demand, operators were unable to purchase all of the nuclear electricity they wanted.

They therefore had to fall back on the more expensive traditional electricity market.

However, to allow them to survive against EDF, the State has provided for a mechanism that automatically increases the famous regulated tariff when operator costs increase.

“In other words, we increase prices to keep the competition alive.

It's completely crazy ”explained in 2019 François Carlier, director of the CLCV consumer association.

Despite all these successive increases, the French can still keep smiling when they compare their electricity bills to those of their European neighbors.

According to data from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in 2019, "the price of electricity in France remains 14% lower than the European Union average": 178 euros / MWh against 207 euros / MWh.

However, "this gap, which was 28% in 2008, is tending to narrow".

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