TARIFF SHIELD. Introduced in 2022 to counter the increase in gas and electricity prices, the price shield has been extended but modified for the year 2023. Here is what it will change for you and for your bills.
[Updated on February 10, 2023 at 10:39 a.m.] Renewed in 2023 for individuals, the price shield will change. The National Assembly adopted Thursday evening, February 9, an article proposing the establishment of a similar tariff shield for VSEs and artisans, following a proposal drawn up jointly with bakers. The majority, unfavorable to this measure taken within the framework of a text on the nationalization of EDF, had previously left the hemicycle.
As a reminder, the price shield in place to contain gas and electricity prices for individuals is well maintained in 2023 but the system will evolve with clearly visible consequences for households. If in 2022 the tariff shield had made it possible to contain the increase to 4% far from the surge in gas and electricity prices in the context of inflation and war in Ukraine, this time the increase will be 15 %, for both gas and electricity. According to the government, this increase will represent 20 euros more per month for a household of 4 people heating with electricity and 25 euros for the same household heating with gas. Remember that only individuals are affected by the price shield (and condominiums with an individual natural gas supply contract), whether for gas or electricity.
The price shield is a mechanism that freezes regulated gas and electricity prices. The State decides on a maximum price and finances the difference to allow households to have a fixed price and to limit the increase in prices, and therefore the increase in the consumer’s bill. The cost for the State is estimated at 16 billion euros for the year 2023.
With the tariff shield, the government had promised an increase contained at 4% for electricity during the year 2022 and a gas tariff frozen on that of October 2021. For 2023, the increase will be 15%, well below the market price forecasts, for both electricity and gas. “Without government action, the prices would be multiplied by 2.2 at the beginning of next year”, assured Elisabeth Borne during the presentation of the device on September 14, 2022, i.e. an increase in the bill of around 200 euros per year. months for a household of 4 people, again according to the government.
The 15% increase in prices set by the tariff shield will still represent a substantial increase for households. “These increases will lead to an average increase in bills of around 25 euros per month for households that heat with gas, instead of around 200 euros per month without a price shield, explained Elisabeth Borne on September 14, 2022 And an average increase of 20 euros per month for households that heat with electricity, instead of 180 euros per month without a tariff shield.”
Not all French households benefit from the tariff shield. It all depends on the offer and your energy supplier. Good news for gas consumers, all households have been eligible for the price shield since February 16, 2022. For electricity, it’s a little more complex! Only subscribers to the regulated tariff are eligible, it is the famous EDF blue tariff. Some alternative suppliers also offer contracts with an offer indexed to the regulated tariff. Customers of these offers are also protected by the price shield, like those who had an offer settled on the market. For those who have subscribed to a market offer for their gas supply, a shield is also in place. “In this case, consumers benefit in this respect from State aid equivalent to the freezing of the regulated tariff, equal to the difference between the tariff which should have applied in the absence of the freeze and the frozen tariff “, explained the government.
