France: Engie prepares its customers for the end of the regulated gas tariff

Engie offers its regulated tariff subscribers a bridging offer called "Passerelle" indexed on a reference indicator calculated by the Commission de régulation de l'énergie, which should experience marginal increases, but which allows the user to retain absolute freedom.

Share:

Comprehensive energy news coverage, updated nonstop

Annual subscription

8.25€/month*

*billed annually at 99€/year for the first year then 149,00€/year ​

Unlimited access • Archives included • Professional invoice

OTHER ACCESS OPTIONS

Monthly subscription

Unlimited access • Archives included

5.2€/month*
then 14.90€ per month thereafter

FREE ACCOUNT

3 articles offered per month

FREE

*Prices are excluding VAT, which may vary depending on your location or professional status

Since 2021: 35,000 articles • 150+ analyses per week

France’s leading gas supplier Engie has written to its subscribers to the regulated gas tariff to prepare them and offer them a relay offer quite close, when this tariff disappears on June 30.

The price of this offer, called “Passerelle” and cancellable at any time without charge, will be indexed on a reference indicator calculated by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE) and should not be accompanied by strong increases but only marginal, according to Engie. “The consumer retains absolute freedom,” said Florence Fouquet, director of private markets, during a press briefing. If he switches to “Passerelle” on July 1, he can always change his mind afterwards for a market offer”, with Engie or another supplier, she said.

The announced end of the regulated tariff, in application of European regulations, has awakened fears that the price of gas will increase further. Consumer associations had asked for a two-year moratorium, fearing that the context of the energy crisis and high price volatility could turn into a commercial battle.

The regulated gas tariff began to disappear in 2019, but there are still 2.3 million Engie residential customers in France who hold this type of contract, in a national residential market that has 11 million subscribers. Many are elderly subscribers. For the past three years, information letters have been sent to customers, the last ones in March and April. On July 1, “customers who have not chosen another offer”, at Engie or another supplier, will be offered “a switch offer, to avoid being deprived of access to gas,” said Fouquet.

The “Passerelle” offer will work like the old regulated tariff, in an evolutionary way: “the evolution of the price of the Kilowatt-hour will be able to vary each month by following the reference index of the CRE”, she said.

Currently, the regulated tariff is frozen by the tariff shield introduced by the State to protect consumers and limit increases: +4% on February 1, 2022 and +15% on average on January 1, 2023. While waiting for the July rate, which will only be known in June, the indicative price of the “Passerelle” offer was in April at a level “fairly close” to the regulated rate, although “slightly higher”. “But we expect it to go back below,” Fouquet said, and if gas prices on the markets spike again, the tariff shield would apply.

Global demand for biofuels is driving a sharp increase in used oil imports to Europe and the United States, straining global feedstock supply chains, according to the International Energy Agency.
Singapore’s gasoil and kerosene inventories reached a three-month high after a sharp weekly drop in net exports, supported by a marked increase in imports from Northeast Asia.
Trader Alkagesta opens a new biofuels trading desk in Geneva, targeting European market growth and consolidating its investments in alternative fuels.
The Indonesian government plans to mandate a 10% bioethanol blend in gasoline to reduce fuel imports and support the local ethanol industry.
California lifts its ban on E15 fuel, opening its vast market to the ethanol-gasoline blend in a bid to lower prices and expand consumer options.
Kinshasa replaces export ban with a quota system covering just half of its output, triggering a price surge and global supply tensions.
India holds a surplus of ethanol that could support SAF production, but unclear sugarcane feedstock rules limit commercial development.
Italy’s competition authority has fined six oil companies nearly €1bn for colluding on bioethanol pricing between 2020 and 2023, including a €336mn penalty for Eni.
LanzaJet and state-owned KazMunayGas have reached a decisive milestone towards building Kazakhstan’s first sustainable aviation fuel plant, with the immediate start of the engineering phase.
Texas-based start-up MCatalysis secures seed funding from HL Energy Ventures to exploit, under exclusive licence, a microwave catalysis technology developed at the University of Oxford.
Altalto (Immingham) Limited receives backing from the UK government to integrate NEXTCHEM technologies into its sustainable aviation fuel project derived from municipal waste.
German group RWE has commissioned five new power plants in France, adding 83 MW to its portfolio, following repeated successes in tenders organised by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The European Union postpones the launch of negotiations on its 2040 climate target amid internal deadlocks and mounting geopolitical pressure.
Repsol has approved the final investment decision for the Ecoplanta project in Spain. This innovative project, utilizing Enerkem's technology, aims to convert non-recyclable municipal waste into methanol, marking a step towards industrial decarbonization.
The French government unveils its strategy to increase offshore wind capacity, targeting 18 GW by 2035 and 45 GW by 2050, through an ambitious call for tenders covering all maritime fronts.
The continued increase in development costs of upstream oil projects is testing the economic viability of new oil production. A recent study by Rystad Energy reveals an increase in breakeven costs, while still remaining below current oil prices.
Avjet Holding Inc. was fined 200,000 dollars by the Quebec Court for violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act following a spill of 4,900 liters of petroleum product in January 2023.
TotalEnergies, in partnership with APA Corporation, has confirmed a USD 10.5 billion investment to develop Block 58 off the coast of Suriname. The project aims to exploit the oil resources from the Sapakara and Krabdagu fields, with reserves estimated at over 750 million barrels. The fields, located 150 kilometers offshore, will be developed using a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit capable of processing up to 220,000 barrels per day.
OPEC is revising its oil demand forecasts for 2024 and 2025 downwards, due to weak economic growth and increased supply from its competitors.

All the latest energy news, all the time

Annual subscription

8.25€/month*

*billed annually at 99€/year for the first year then 149,00€/year ​

Unlimited access - Archives included - Pro invoice

Monthly subscription

Unlimited access • Archives included

5.2€/month*
then 14.90€ per month thereafter

*Prices shown are exclusive of VAT, which may vary according to your location or professional status.

Since 2021: 30,000 articles - +150 analyses/week.