Energy premiums intended for energy renovation will fall under the effect of several government measures.

-

IStock / City Presse

“The energy renovation of buildings is one of the government's top priorities.

[…] Because better insulating your home means both improving comfort at home, reducing your bills and also doing something good for the environment.

This is what Emmanuelle Wargon, the Minister of Housing, said in early 2020.

A year later, the legislative shift is quite different.

The generalization of MaPrimeRénov 'has come at the cost of income ceilings which severely limit the amount of aid for middle-class and affluent households.

As for energy bonuses, they will suffer a blow of the plane.

A well-established system

The State requires all electricity, gas and fuel suppliers to contribute to an overall objective of energy savings, under penalty of significant financial penalties.

To meet these obligations, these players can produce the famous energy saving certificates, known as CEE, or acquire them in exchange for financing consumers' energy renovation work.

These are the famous “energy bonuses”, private subsidies granted without income conditions and which can take the form of vouchers or checks in euros.

However, this system is governed by quotas determined every four years.

And for the fifth EWC period, which will run from 2022 to 2025, the government plans to increase the volume of certificates that suppliers must obtain by 10%.

Problematic overproduction

In recent years, the market has taken off, notably under the effect of boosted EWCs for precarious homes and “help” for certain works.

As a result, “for a year, we have produced at 170% of the quota target,” explains Nicolas Moulin, the founder of PrimesEnergie.fr, an intermediary authorized to sell EWCs to suppliers and pay the resulting premiums to consumers.

And to continue: “A volume increase of barely 10% is largely insufficient to absorb this overproduction.

The current stock is such that operators like EDF or Total have already fulfilled their quotas for 2021 and 2022. On the announcement of the slight increase for the new period, the price of the certificate has therefore fallen from 9 to 7 euros between January and February, since suppliers are no longer in a hurry to purchase additional EWCs.

This is the classic effect of supply exceeding demand.

"

Exit the nudges

And the individuals in all this?

For them, it is double the penalty.

The amount of energy premiums depends on market tension: with a falling price, the price set by the players will inevitably decrease.

PrimesEnergie.fr has already reduced the subsidies it offers to all households by 10%.

In addition, rather than increasing the quotas, the government intends to reduce the number of certificates.

While the amount of premiums is doubled for precarious households, the required income ceilings will be tightened.

Likewise, the State wants to put an end to the windfall effect of the "helping hand" offers, which have led to a sharp increase in construction sites and eco-delinquency.

Exit the insulation of the attic or the floors at 1 euro and the check for 1,300 euros to replace its gas boiler, the government announced their removal this summer.

Negotiations underway with the renovation industry could, however, delay the deadline until the end of September.

But one thing is certain: the premiums will go down.

Economy

Housing: How to heat well according to its area?

Economy

What tax credit to adapt your home to a loss of autonomy?

The upwind sector

These planes - still in the draft stage - have caused widespread misunderstanding, especially since the recent frameworks (prohibition of telephone canvassing, prior technical visit, withdrawal period and random monitoring of sites) have made it possible to reduce the eco-delinquency and, by the way, the number of sites.

The Symbiote union, which brings together nearly 200 energy renovation companies, is sounding the alarm.

“Individuals' bills will drop from single to double, which will discourage them from having work done.

So 10,000 jobs are threatened in the industry, ”denounces its founder, Édouard Barthès.

And the contractor to cite in particular the insulation of lost attics, the first project to be carried out in terms of energy renovation, which is however often neglected due to lack of visibility.

"If you have an estimate of 300 or 400 euros to be paid on this type of work, you divide the number of potential customers by 10".

  • Purchasing power

  • Works

  • Housing

  • Legislation