The Government is working on new aid to companies that could lead them, in the absence of a European support system, to cover part of their electricity bill.
The devices “will be supplemented in the coming days by the Government, which will announce our protection mechanisms for, in particular, companies that are not included in the tariff shield in the coming months,” the Head of State told the press after a Summit European in Brussels.
The State has provided an allocation of seven billion euros to finance this new aid, derived from the “annuities” of energy companies linked to the explosion in energy prices, according to the Government.
Protect companies excluded from the tariff shield
Companies can already apply for aid if their energy bills (gas and electricity) represent more than 3% of their 2021 billing, but Bercy is waiting for the green light from the European Commission to simplify the criteria, considering them too complex. While waiting for this green light, France intends to install a device in parallel to cover the holes in the racket, in particular on the bakery side.
Excluded from the shield are “an entire category of companies, SMEs (small and medium-sized companies), medium-sized companies (ETI) or certain groups”. “In the next few days we will finalize the national protection mechanism that will precisely allow these actors to be assured and given full visibility,” President Macron promised.
Companies that have signed contracts with their supplier that provide a price per megawatt hour will be eligible for this aid. more than 325 eurosaccording to the main working hypothesis proposed by the cabinet of the Minister for the Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
SME but also ETI?
In addition to this minimum price, a ceiling will be set, but its exact amount remains to be defined.
The “privileged way of working,” according to Bercy, would consist of the government taking over part of the companies’ electricity bills.
Specifically, the State could finance up to 50% of the part of the bill subject to market prices, with the rest of the bill benefiting from the advantageous rate called “Arenh”.
The Arenh is a mechanism by which EDF resells part of the electricity produced by its nuclear reactors to its competitors, at a price well below market prices.
With this new support system, the government is targeting SMEs in particular, but it also intends to negotiate with the European Commission to try to benefit medium-sized companies, the Economy Ministry said.
Source: BFM TV
