MoneyVox details the offers that protect you and those that put your wallet at risk with soaring energy prices.
The crisis is brewing. Energy prices are soaring all over Europe and the French government has announced that its intervention on tariffs will be less from January 2023. In 2022, there was a 4% increase in electricity prices (at the regulated rate Editor’s note), whereas they should have increased by 40%. We will maintain a shield system in 2023, but a little less advantageous, admitted on France info the Minister of the Budget Gabriel Attal. Especially since at the same time, the government freeze gas prices since October 2021 which would otherwise have increased by 60%. The executive has also put in place a reduction at the pump on the liter of gasoline.
At a time when some energy suppliers are considering price increases of between 80 and 110% in September and October, and the end of the current price shield is approaching, it is time to dive into your current contract, in electricity as in gas, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises. Here are the different energy offers that protect you and those that put your wallet at risk.
EDF and Engie regulated tariffs
EDF’s sales regulation tariff (TRV), also known as the blue tariff, is the best protection for the consumer, in particular because of the tariff shield which has limited its increase to 4% this year. Even reduced, this will continue in 2023 and make TRVs the best option. Indeed, increases are limited by government decision to curb soaring prices on the energy market. Gas TRVs are also the most protective today as tariffs have been frozen for almost a year until the end of 2022.
In electricity, if you left TRV for a market offer, you can reverse gear free of charge and without interruption. In gas, this is no longer possible because the TRVs will disappear on July 1, 2023, unless the government suspends the decision.
Gas bill: should the government prevent the end of the regulated tariff to protect households?
Index contract on the regulated tariffs
If you have a contract taken out with an alternative supplier but this one is TRV index, you also benefit from the benefit of the tariff shield, for both electricity and gas. It is not necessary to change, for the moment.
Market index contract
If your contract is market price index, the situation becomes more complicated. Since October 2021, many customers have seen their bills double or triple. Ohm Energie has, for example, just announced by mail an increase of 84% compared to the TRV on 1 September. The supplier Mint communicated to him a tariff increase of 111% from October 1st. In this context, Iberdrola has made an even more radical choice: it asks its customers to find another supplier.
Many alternative players have simply pulled out of the market in recent months. At present, consumers have the choice between around thirty indexed offers on the market, compared to more than 100 in the summer of 2021, but all are more expensive than the retail price.
electricity, gas: reduce your bill with our online comparator
These indexed contracts on the wholesale market are said to be variable. because they constantly fluctuate. From the opening to competition on July 1, 2007 until mid-2021, market offers were more advantageous than TRVs.
Today this is no longer the case! If you have a contract like this you should try to change it. A return to the TRV is possible for electricity and proves to be the most protective.
Fixed contract vs. variable contract
There are also other offers that are a priori favorable to customers. Those are fixed price contracts, for gas and electricity. In this case, the tariff is guaranteed for 12, 24 or 36 months, regardless of market movements or changes in regulated tariffs. Currently, although these are frozen until the end of the year, they are changed normally every 6 months for electricity and monthly for gas.
If you have a fixed price offer, signed before energy prices soar in 2022, keep your contract as is. Fixed price offers have disappeared from the market today, because too expensive for the suppliers.
Is EDF’s Tempo offer the solution?
The government would like to propose a new electricity offer to reduce the tension on the supply network this winter and allow consumers to reduce their bills. His model? Tempo!
With Tempo, today, electricity prices vary depending on the day of the year. 300 days a year you pay little, around 8 cents per kilowatt hour (KwH), these are the blue days. There are also 43 white days between September 1 and August 31 where the price is that of the regulated electricity tariff (TRV). But 22 days a year (red), you then pay your KwH 55 cents, which is three times the level of the TRVs. These days are often very cold…