The extension and simplification of this support system was announced in early December by the government. Aid to companies aimed at partially offsetting the soaring energy costs caused by the war in Ukraine has been extended until December 2023, according to a decree published on Saturday December 17 in the Official newspaper.
Companies eligible for this scheme are those whose energy expenditure was equivalent to at least 3% of their turnover in 2021 and whose bill has increased by more than 50% compared to that year. The amount of aid and the ceilings it can reach (raised to 4, 50 and 150 million euros) vary according to the situation of the company.
Simplified criteria and one-stop shop
As the envelope dedicated to this aid scheme has been underused up to now, the criteria have been simplified and a one-stop shop has been opened, intended in particular for medium-sized companies and large so-called energy-intensive companies, which may request a deposit.
The companies concerned are those “large energy consumers who have suffered an increase in the cost of supplying natural gas, electricity, heating or cooling produced from natural gas or electricity between March 2022 and December 2023” and “whose activity is particularly affected by the war in Ukraine”specifies the decree.
At the end of October, the European Commission had extended until the end of 2023 the temporary relaxation of its rules limiting State aid to companies, to allow countries to continue to support their economy in the face of the war in Ukraine and the surge in energy price.
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