The energy unions and salaried directors of EDF have seized the Council of State to challenge the decree issued by the government which obliges the group to increase the volumes of electricity sold at low prices to other suppliers of electricity. electricity, they announced on Monday.

Contain price increases

"On Friday April 1, 2022, the Council of State was seized of an action for annulment and a request for interim suspension against the regulatory texts of March 11, 2022 organizing the spoliation of EDF" through the "raising of the ceiling of the Arenh”, indicated in a press release the four trade union federations representing the electricity and gas industries (CGT, CFE-CGC, FO, CFDT).

The appeals are carried out by these four trade union federations as well as by the six salaried directors of EDF, they specified.

In order to contain, as it had promised, the rise in regulated electricity tariffs to 4% in 2022, the government has asked EDF to increase by 20% the annual quota of electricity sold at a reduced price to its competitors, at 120 TWh (against 100 TWh previously).

“Arenh” device

This device, called Arenh (Regulated access to historical nuclear electricity) was established by the European Commission to force the introduction of competition against the national and historical operator EDF, which must thus cede part of its electricity to its competitors at discounted prices (46.2 euros per MWh) while prices on the wholesale markets exceed 200 euros per MWh.

Seized by the European Commission

In addition to the cancellation of these texts, published on March 12 in the Official Journal, they initiated summary proceedings, therefore urgently, in order to "request their suspension and consequently the stopping of the additional delivery of Arenh ​" and to "request that the beneficiaries of additional Arenh already delivered reimburse the corresponding aid or pay it into a blocked account".

The date of examination of this request is not yet known at this stage.

The trade union federations recall having also seized the European Commission to challenge the increase in the Arenh ceiling as being contrary to European law.

EDF estimates the negative impact of raising the Arenh to 10.2 billion euros on its gross operating surplus (Ebitda) this year.

Confronted in parallel with other production problems in its power plants, the group expects a plunge in its results in 2022. This forced the State to get its hands on the portfolio by subscribing on March 18 to a capital increase of 2.6 billion euros.

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  • Economy

  • Society

  • EDF

  • electricity

  • Price