For the 10 million or so households that had subscribed to an offer from an alternative supplier, precisely to pay less for their electricity, the bad news will soon arrive, with very significant price revaluations. Some have already received an email in December, telling them that their bill will increase for their next monthly payment.
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This is the case of Mega Energie and Mint Energie customers for whom the price of the electron will be multiplied, respectively by 1.5 and by 2 compared to the regulated sales tariff (TRV) of EDF, underlines a study by the energy consulting firm Hellowatt. Remember that the share of electricity represents regarding a third of the bill, the rest being made up of taxes and distribution.
In November, the consumer association CLCV had also lodged a complaint once morest Mint Energie, ekWateur, GreenYellow and Ovo Energy, accusing them of deceptive commercial practices, with emails that did not sufficiently explain the price change.
Contract revisions will multiply
“The smallest market players who do not have sufficient financial standing and all those who had not bought enough electricity in advance to supply their customers this year are suffering the full brunt of the surge in prices observed since the start of the school year”, underlines Sylvain Le Falher, the founder of Hellowatt. In the wholesale market, prices have increased fivefold over the past six months, and even tenfold at times.
Of the thirty or so alternative suppliers listed by the study, a good half will begin to pass these increases on to their customers, according to the Hellowatt survey. The Enercoop cooperative has announced a 40% increase over the TRV, which will occur when the contract is renewed. At Bulb, whose British parent company is bankrupt, it is 25% and 16% for Planète Yes.
Cdiscount and GreenYellow announce + 15%, but the two Casino subsidiaries are actively looking for a buyer. In September, Leclerc, the other distribution giant had already decided to exit the electricity market, even offering a check to its 140,000 customers so that they can find another supplier more quickly. The Dane Barry has also decided to stop the costs on the French market.
More commercial prospecting
While waiting for better days, many alternative suppliers are no longer taking on new customers. This is the case of Enercoop, Alterna, Elocité, Energies du Santerre, Plüm energy (until April), Proxelia, Urban Solar, Ycli or even the Swedish public giant. Vattenfall, who had however multiplied campaigns for three years to become better known to individuals.
With rare exceptions, such as the small Ohm Energie or the juggernaut TotalEnergies, which has the means to handle the soaring electricity prices, all the suppliers who still post offers have revised their price list. The Italian Eni, for example, has decided not to apply an increase for its current customers, but the new contracts will be on the basis of a price increase of 160% compared to the TRV. At EkWateur, the price offered will be 40% higher than that of the TRV, while Iberdrola will offer 125% more but guaranteed for three years.
EDF regains customers
What undermine the opening of the electricity market, which had rather accelerated in recent years. «But as soon as market prices go down, attractive offers will reappear ”, believes the boss of Hellowatt.
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The bad deals of the alternative suppliers are in any case the happiness of EDF. While losing on average nearly a million subscribers per year, it has started to win back customers since this fall, welcomed its president Jean-Bernard Lévy in early January.
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