Europe 1 6:00 p.m., February 8, 2024
After the increase in electricity prices at the beginning of February, gas, in turn, should see an increase next summer. Increases also faced by EDF or Engie agents. However, they can benefit from a discount on their consumption, under certain conditions. Europe 1 takes stock.
This increase on February 1 made the headlines at the start of 2024: the electricity price saw an increase of between 8.6 and 9.8%. The price of gas, which fell at the beginning of February, should also rise again next summer. If these various increases do not delight consumers, agents of large energy companies such as EDF or Engie are less affected.
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Indeed, according to a provision which concerns employees of the electricity and gas industries, they benefit from the "agent rate", also known as the "private rate". At EDF and Engie, employees are entitled to a 90% reduction on the price of electricity or gas, in accordance with a circular in existence since 1946, that is to say they only pay 10% of their consumption.
Not all employees are necessarily entitled to this benefit
This advantage was called into question in particular in 2019 by François de Rugy, former Minister of Ecological Transition, on the antenna of Europe 1. He was based on a report from the Court of Auditors, which mentioned a shortfall of 295 million euros for EDF in 2017.
Anne Debregeas, trade unionist at Sud Energie, then confirmed in the columns of Le
Parisien
the existence of this "90% rebate", specifying that all employees were not necessarily entitled to it, for example those who live in shared accommodation or who live in housing with collective heating. Also, retired agents can also benefit from it if they prove that they have provided at least 15 years of service to EDF. “In total, 300,000 people” are entitled to the agent rate, indicated Anne Debregeas.