The VSEs will pay “no more than 280 euros/MWh on average” in 2023, announced the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire.
Very small businesses (TPE) with fewer than 10 employees will benefit from a guaranteed electricity tariff, set at 280 euros per megawatt hour on average in 2023, the government announced on Friday after a meeting with suppliers.
This guaranteed tariff, applicable from the January 2023 invoice, will be accessible to VSEs that have renewed their electricity supply contract from the second half of 2022 and who do not benefit from the regulated sales tariff, specified the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire. Of the 2.1 million VSEs in France, 600,000 do not benefit from the regulated tariff such as families, and which is even lower, according to figures provided by the number two of the government.
To benefit from the guaranteed rate, entrepreneurs must obtain a form from the tax authorities’ website or from that of their electricity supplier, and tick two boxes indicating on the one hand that they actually run a very small business (fewer than 10 employees and less than two million euros in turnover) and on the other who wish to benefit from this aid open until 31 December 2023.
No individual renegotiation
At this stage, it remains impossible to quantify the extent of the commercial gesture granted by the suppliers or the effort of the State to compensate for this guaranteed price. “We are continuing discussions on cost sharing” with suppliers, assured Bruno Le Maire. With this provision, the State therefore excludes the hypothesis of thousands of individual renegotiations of electricity contracts between companies and suppliers, considered until now.
The guaranteed tariff announced on Friday only concerns electricity supply contracts, while gas contracts are the subject of already existing aid mechanisms (regulated tariff, counter, etc.). Among the energy companies present at the meeting were EDF, Engie and TotalEnergies in particular.
The latter had announced during the day that it was ready for “rate revisions” and proposed to bring the electricity supply contracts to the VSEs “at an average annual price of 320 euros excluding taxes per MWh, taking into account” existing state aid.