Off-peak time reform is quickly approaching. Already presented by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) last February, it aims to “adapt off-peak hours to the evolution of the electricity mix and, in particular, the development of solar energy, the challenges of the network and the balance between supply and demand” to better align consumption periods with production periods, as Enedis explains.
In fact, these off-peak hours that allow households subscribed to the peak/off-peak rate option to benefit from a cheaper electricity price are today mainly at night. The reform plans to move part of it to the early afternoon, a time slot in which energy is abundant and cheap, especially in summer. Specifically, the number of off-peak hours will continue to be limited to 8 hours a day, but two or three of them will be moved to the afternoon and the rest will remain at night.
It should be noted, however, that the distribution of off-peak hours will vary between summer and winter and “will continue to be adapted locally to smooth consumption and guarantee the balance between supply and demand,” according to Enedis. Furthermore, the electricity distribution network manager specifies that “from now on certain time slots will be excluded for the placement of off-peak hours, depending on seasonality.”
A two-phase programming for 11 million customers
Today, 14.5 million customers benefit from a peak/off-peak offer, or 40% of residential and small professional electricity consumers. Among them, 3.5 million benefit from off-peak hours between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. in winter and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in winter. and 11 pm to 7 am in summer. Therefore, the reform will affect the remaining 11 million customers who will benefit from at least 2 off-peak hours during the day in summer.
The reform will be carried out in two phases. The first will run from November 1, 2025 to mid-June 2026 and will affect 1.7 million customers who already have off-peak hours during the day but also have off-peak hours at night, who will have to move to comply with the new regulatory requirements. The remaining 9.3 million customers will have to wait for the second phase that will run from the second half of 2026 to the end of 2027 and will introduce the seasonality of off-peak hours between winter and summer.
Although Enedis informed the different electricity suppliers about the changes in off-peak hours six months ago, the latter must communicate these changes to their customers at least 1 month before their entry into force in accordance with the provisions provided by the CRE.
Source: BFM TV
