Simplify, again and again, and cast a wider net, to “go get all those who escape the tariff shield” reserved for individuals and very small businesses. No less than three ministers – Bruno Le Maire for the economy, Agnès Pannier-Runacher for energy transition and Christophe Béchu for ecological transition and territorial cohesion – met on Thursday October 27 in Matignon, around the Prime Minister , Elisabeth Borne, to present the new devices aimed at reducing the electricity bills of businesses, local authorities and other associations.
Everyone is aware that the aid system in force is “ still too complex », as recognized by the head of government, and that the meshes of the net, which are too loose, leave many players helpless in the face of exploding costs. The Confederation of small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, has been agitating since the start of the school year the figure of 150,000 companies “ in mortal danger “, too large to benefit from the tariff shield reserved for structures with fewer than ten employees, and too low energy consumers to benefit from the status of energy-intensive as well as the aid that goes hand in hand.
For these companies – bakeries, industrial SMEs, restaurateurs, but also associations, local authorities and public establishments – an “electricity buffer” will be implemented from 1er January 2023, when companies that have renegotiated their contracts will see the new rates apply.
“Giving visibility” to actors in difficulty
This depreciation will lead “roughly speaking” to reduce the price of a megawatt hour by around one hundred euros, said Ms Pannier-Runacher. “This allows to crush part of the prices for the companies which concluded contracts when the tariffs flew away”, she explained, citing for example renegotiations at 800 euros per megawatt hour. This system, negotiated with energy suppliers, will be entirely ” automatique and will apply directly to the bill, boasted the government.
The second measure, which concerns medium-sized companies and very large companies, consists of a “drastic simplification” of the counter set up at the start of the school year, starting on 15 November. To qualify for aid, companies will have to meet less stringent criteria than those currently in force. Thus, it will be necessary for the electricity bill to have increased by 50% (and not more by 100%), for the cost of energy to represent 3% of turnover by the end of 2022 (and no longer by the end 2021), and, finally, that the additional cost translates into a significant drop in Ebitda (profits). In addition, the aid ceiling will double, rising to 4 million, 50 million or 100 million euros, depending on the size of the company.
You have 18.44% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.