2023-04-21 08:20:44
Posted Apr 21, 2023, 10:20 AM
It was initially supposed to stop at the end of 2023, but the still high prices require the government to act once more. The tariff shield on electricity, put in place in October 2021 to limit increases in bills, will be maintained for another two years, announced the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, this Friday morning on LCI.
“I give us two years, by the start of 2025, to get out of the electricity shield”, because of the tariffs which remain “very high” compared to the pre-crisis situation, he justified . The production of electricity by EDF remains “a little below what we might expect, so that makes prices which are even higher”.
The release of this shield will therefore be gradual “so as not to worry” the French, has already promised Bruno Le Maire. The increase in the regulated electricity tariff, capped by the State thanks to subsidies, was 4% in 2022 and 15% in 2023.
End of gas shield
On the other hand, the Minister considers that the extension of the tariff shield on gas is no longer justified. Indeed, natural gas prices have fallen significantly since the unprecedented peaks of 2022, caused by the war in Ukraine and the end of Russian gas exports to Western Europe.
For gas, “there is no reason to maintain the shield”, said Bruno Le Maire, because of the prices which “have returned to the pre-crisis situation, at 50 euros per MWh”. The shield will stop “as of this year”, announced Bruno Le Maire.
In 2022, the capping of gas and electricity prices, as well as exceptional checks and rebates (in particular on fuel), will have cost 24 billion euros. On Thursday, Bercy announced that it was counting on a bill of 17 billion euros this year.
With AFP
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