Some 100,000 French customers have been wronged in their bills by an error by electricity supplier Eni, which has pledged to implement “corrective measures”, the Ministry of Energy Transition was told on Thursday.
Invoicing errors: Eni France admits sending incorrect schedules after contract renewals
The directors of Eni France, summoned on Wednesday by Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher, “acknowledged that they had sent out erroneous invoice schedules to some of their customers who had renewed their contracts in the second half of 2022, in particular because they did not fully incorporate the government’s protection measures”, said the Minister’s office, confirming a report in Le Parisien.
In autumn 2021, the government had introduced a “tariff shield” on energy to contain French bills, which the country is due to phase out by the end of 2024. Contacted by AFP, Eni had no immediate reaction.
Eni: Measures to be taken to ensure correct billing of the energy shield according to the Minister
Summoned following consumer alerts, in the presence of the National Energy Ombudsman and the Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE), Eni’s executives “have undertaken to implement corrective measures to ensure that their customers are invoiced the energy shield price (…) over the year 2023 (in practice from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024)”, said Mrs. Pannier-Runacher’s office.
“Around 100,000 customers should be affected by this rectification,” said the same source. The Minister has “asked the CRE and the DGCCRF to watch out for any suspicion of abuse by suppliers towards their customers, to carry out investigations and to impose sanctions if necessary”, she added.
In response, the CGT Energie denounced on Thursday what it described as a “price jungle” and “misleading arguments” by alternative suppliers “to attract new customers”, in a press release.
