The group will have to sell additional electricity benefits to its competitors, despite the outbreak of energy prices and in a context of inflationary thrust.
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In the face of a European unprecedented energy crisis, the French government argues “exceptional measures”. Despite the outbreak of energy prices and in a context of inflationary thrust, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno the Mayor, confirmed Thursday 13 January to the evening, three months of the presidential election, that the rise in the tariff regulated electricity sales would be limited to + 4% (all taxes included) in February (instead of … 44% excluding tax without state intervention).
In other words, the “blue rate”, to which are subscribed nearly three quarters of the households, and on which the competition is also based. Objective: “Preserve the purchasing power of the French”.
First measure, planned since the fall of 2021 and the promise of a “tariff shield”: the reduction of the domestic tax on the final electricity consumption, a tax loss of about 8 billion euros.
Second measurement, poorly anticipated due to the airfall: EDF will have to “brader” in 2022 even more nuclear power to its competitors. It will be 120 terawatt hours (TWh), against 100 in previous years. This surplus will have a cost for the historical supplier, whose state is always the majority shareholder: between 7.7 and 8.4 billion euros less on its gross operating surplus. Consequence, the action dropped by more than 20% at the opening of the scholarship on Friday, January 14th.
Consequence of European liberalization, EDF has obliged to sell at a price set a share of its nuclear power volume. For the company, this motif of sharp annoyance is called regulated access to historical nuclear power (Arenh). Since 2012, the frozen price was 42 euros from the megawatt hour. In 2022, it will increase to 46.20 euros. A small counterpart for the electrician. Well below the current wholesale market: 274 euros the unit, Thursday at 18 hours, for example.
This regulated access device is supposed to disappear at the end of the year 2025. The time, in theory, to allow alternative suppliers to deploy. In practice, these benefit mainly on the possibility of sourcing in electrons … without even having to produce them by themselves. “They benefit from the rent accumulated by public investments made of the last fifty years. This is a complete aberration”, criticizes the French economist Christophe Ramaux, Associate Professor at Paris-i University.
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