Put in place by the State to counter the inflation that mistreats the wallets of the French, the tariff shield comes to an end in August, which raises the doubt on a possible extension until 2025. A household heating with electricity and paying 1640 € per year will see its bill climb to 1800 €, according to the government, which represents an increase of 10%.
The tariff shield has made it possible to contain the price of energy in a context of high inflation. The Higher Energy Council (CSE) estimates that without this shield, the price of electricity would have increased by 35% in 2022 and up to 100% in 2023.
Set the accounts square
This brutal increase in the price of energy was however expected, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, having already announced a gradual lifting of the tariff shield. These announcements accompany in particular the will of the executive to tighten the public accounts to counter a debt which is close to 3000 billion euros. For Bruno Le Maire, “It’s time to put the accounts square”.
It was at the microphone of RTL that Gabriel Attal, Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, confirmed the government’s desire to end the measure by the end of 2024. “As soon as we have to save money, we must in particular get out of the specific systems that we put in place during the inflation crisis”he said, adding that “that means that we will have to gradually get out of the tariff shield on energy prices”.
Individuals are not the only ones affected, since this increase concerns all those “tuned to a meter with a power up to 36 kilovolt-amperes”including small businesses, artisans and small businesses.
14 billion euros in savings
In this context, the end of this measure could thus represent for the government nearly 14 billion in savings, to which is added the end of the support window for high-consumption companies. The cost of the tariff shield had been estimated at 110 billion euros between 2021 and 2023 for individuals, communities and businesses.
The French will thus have to gradually get used to much more expensive electricity than today. Whether for heating, for usual consumption or to charge an electric car, the bill will be high, to the point that one can judiciously wonder if it is more profitable to drive on electric or to remain faithful to the good old oil, yet so polluting.