The aid measures for companies and communities announced at the end of October by the Government to deal with the very high electricity bills will only cover “between 10 and 20% of the increase” of commercial companies, which say they are “in serious danger” Wednesday in a press release.
The French Trade Council (CDCF), which brings together some thirty trade federations, ensures that “the mechanism for amortizing the cost of electricity put in place is not sufficient and only covers 10 to 20% of the increase in electricity bill”, and affirms that the companies he represents “are in great danger”.
The government announced aid on Thursday to support companies and communities facing exploding energy bills, with a total allocation of almost 12 billion euros.
In particular, an “electric shock absorber” is planned, which should come into force on January 1 and provides for the State to bear part of the 2023 bill for small and very small businesses, but also for local authorities, hospitals, universities and associations, which do not have access to the tariff shield.
“Disappointing” measures
The second measure consists of simplifying an already existing system, but too complex and therefore underused, rather intended for medium-sized enterprises (ETI). A single window will allow companies whose energy bills (gas, electricity but also heat and cold) have increased by at least 50% from 2022 at the end of November to obtain assistance, with the possibility of requesting an advance.
For the CDCF, “these measures that we expected are unfortunately disappointing and do not correspond to the seriousness of the situation.” He believes that VSEs and SMEs “will still have to assume a strong increase in their cost despite the application of the electric shock absorber.”
In addition, many medium-sized companies are, according to the CDCF, “unable to absorb the cost of this energy bill.” In the absence of new aid, they would have to “face an insoluble equation”, that is, either “pass on their costs in the sale price”, which would aggravate inflation and threaten consumption, or “reduce their investments or even completely stop its activity. “.
Source: BFM TV
