The boss of the energetician, Jean-Bernard Lévy, launched a contentious appeal to the Council of State. The State has imposed on the group in 2022 to sell 20 % of its additional production at broken prices.
by
Baroud of honor for Jean-Bernard Lévy. While the State launched, in July, the nationalization of Electricité de France (EDF), and set out to speed up the succession of its current boss, the latter does not disarm. Very reassembled against the State, which imposed a price shield against the price increase, he decided to attack the main shareholder of the group (84 %) before the courts. “EDF filed this day [Tuesday August 9] a contentious appeal to the Council of State, and a compensation request, for an estimated date at 8.34 billion euros, with the State,” said the group in a press release. He claims to cancel the increase in nuclear electricity volumes sold at low prices to his competitors, alternative suppliers, which the State imposed on him in early 2022.
In order to contain the increase in regulated electricity prices at 4 % this year, EDF was forced to increase by 20 % the annual quota sold at a discount to its competitors, to 120 terawattheures (TWh) , against 100 TWh before, while the costs of electricity explode on the wholesale markets. This sale at broken prices was carried out within the framework of regulated access to historic nuclear electricity (ARENH), a mechanism imposed on the group in 2011 in order to guarantee, in the face of the requirements of Brussels, a form of competition in a Market dominated by EDF.
“spoliation”
In May, already, Jean-Bernard Lévy had launched a graceful appeal to ask the State to return to this measure. “Both the price and the conditions for these powers are considerably penalizing us,” he said. The state, which had two months – either until Thursday August 11 – to follow up, has since made the deaf ear. Consequently, EDF has chosen to seize administrative justice, while several unions and shareholders have also committed prosecution. “Although late and against the backdrop of settling of accounts, this EDF approach is fair, judge Fabrice Coudour, federal secretary of the FNME-CGT. But we must go further to put an end to all our ailments by taking out the market energy, by placing the general interest in the foreground and by conducting a real nationalization of the sector. “
For its part, Energy in shares, the association which brings together employee shareholders and former employees of the group, welcomed the appeal filed on Tuesday August 9, while regretting that this action did not intervene in support of Those deposited by the representatives of employee shareholders to denounce the “spoliation” of the company. In Bercy, we remain very serene. “The State will continue to defend the enhancement of the ARENH before the Council of State, which still recalled, in July, the general interest associated with this decision,” it is said to the ministry of the economy. According to the government, “without these measures, in particular the volume of additional Arenh, household invoices have increased by 35 % TTC”.