Don’t panic, there is no hurry and beware of aggressive canvassing: this is the message passed on Thursday by the Energy Regulation Commission and the National Mediator as the end of regulated gas tariffs approaches on June 30, on which half of French households still depend.
The regulated gas tariff began to disappear in 2019 in application of European competition regulations, but there are still 2.55 million residential customers in France out of 11 million subscribers who hold this type of contract, including 2.3 million at Engie. Three million are also in indexed offer, i.e. similar to the regulated rate. A little less than half of the subscribers depending on the regulated tariff have never left the historical supplier GDF, which became GDF-Suez and then Engie. Many of them are elderly, and consumer associations fear that the period is conducive to abuse by alternative suppliers.
“Consumers have the choice, they have time, they do not have the knife under the throat. If they do nothing, they automatically switch to an offer that will continue to protect them,” said Emmanuelle Wargon, president of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE), to AFP. For its customers, Engie has unveiled a “Passerelle” offer that will take over from the regulated tariff. It will be terminable without charge at any time by customers who wake up after July 1.
In financial terms, this should remain relatively painless, according to Engie. It is not yet known the exact rate, which will depend on market prices, but if the changeover had taken place in April, the increase would have been 3%, according to a price list consulted by AFP. The period includes nevertheless “a risk of recrudescence of aggressive canvassing” by suppliers, fears the National Mediator of Energy.
The tariff shield continues
Two pieces of advice: “take your time and do not sign a proposal immediately when you are canvassed” and “never rely on commercial proposals based on the amount of monthly payments, which can change: the rate must be proposed and formulated per kilowatt-hour”. Whether you live in Vesoul or Albi, “it’s the same”, “we have put in place the tools of transition and it will go well”, assures Mrs. Wargon. “This is a trickier time than usual, yet less difficult than months ago because market prices have come down,” she adds, urging consumers to look at the fixed-price proposals that are flourishing again, after months of extreme volatility, and are “another way to protect yourself.” “We’re finally not at a bad time,” she believes.
Gas prices in Europe have largely come down from the extraordinary highs of last summer and fall. In mid-May, an official reference price will be published by the Commission to easily compare one’s bill with the new commercial offers. This reference will be updated every month, as was previously the regulated gas tariff (TRVG) until the government decided to block it on October 1, 2021 after a surge of 51% in ten months.
Since that date, the government has decreed two increases in the regulated tariff (+4% in February 2022, +15% in January 2023) as part of the tariff shield. “It is an error of analysis to say that by extending the regulated gas rates, we protect. They do not protect as such, it is the tariff shield that protects,” notes Ms. Wargon.
Emmanuel Macron’s former housing minister urges people not to listen to suppliers tempted to make believe in “the apocalypse from July 1”. Because no, the gas will not be cut. No, it will not be mandatory to sign a new contract immediately and yes, the rate shield will continue to apply until the end of the year. At what level? “I do not know, these are very political choices of the government, the price signal has already largely taken place,” she says.
