The rise in electricity and gas prices for consumers will be “contained” in 2023, while prices have exploded on the wholesale markets, assured Saturday the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire. “The 4% cap (of the regulated tariff, editor’s note) will be maintained until the end of 2022, there will be no catch-up on this cap in 2023, and the increases mentioned by the President of the Republic and the First minister will be contained increases”, declared the minister on the sidelines of the congress of majority executives in Metz. He then clarified that the “contained increases” to come in 2023 would also concern the price of gas, without giving further details.
Prices multiplied by 12 in one year
Wholesale electricity prices for 2023 broke a record for France on Friday reaching more than 1,000 euros per megawatt / hour (MWh), against around 85 euros per MWh a year ago. Gas prices for their part evolved this week at historic levels, more seen since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, i.e. more than 300 euros per MWh.
“For the most modest households, there will be energy checks which will help those who are most in difficulty to pay their energy bills”, added Bruno Le Maire. “We don’t want inflation to translate into economic brutality for French households,” said the minister. “We want it to be soft, bearable, contained,” he insisted, adding that the effects of inflation for the population should be “smoothed out over time”.
Simplify business life
For companies, Bruno Le Maire said he wanted to simplify access to a fund of 3 billion euros for those who have difficulty paying their electricity bill. He also recalled that 1.5 million SMEs benefited from the regulated electricity tariff and that others benefited from preferential tariffs.
The government will “simplify in the coming days these criteria for access to the one-stop shop so that any company which is currently in difficulty because its electricity bill has exploded and it is not protected through regulated tariffs, can access these subsidies more easily”, promised the minister.
Asked about the cost to the State of this aid and the capping of energy prices, Bruno Le Maire indicated that “all the budget forecasts were made taking into account the very sharp increase in the prices of electricity and gas. We are not taken aback”.
Source: Europe1
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