The descent is spectacular. At more than 1,000 euros per megawatt hour at the end of August, the price of wholesale electricity for delivery in 2023 fell last week to 240 euros/MWh, the lowest since April. “Nobody expected it to go down that much,” admits Nicolas Leclerc, co-founder of Omnegy, a consulting and intermediation firm for purchasing energy.
Good news for consumers? Not really at this point. Because these wholesale price variations are not directly reflected in the prices billed to the end customer, electricity providers smooth their rates, with greater reason in this uncertain period when prices can jump from one day to the next.
Contracts concluded “on the basis of unreasonable prices”
Businesses, and especially smaller ones, are well placed to know this. Among those who have tacitly seen their subscription renewed in recent months, with an explosion in the bill, and those who have had no choice but to renegotiate a new contract at the worst moment at crazy prices, many share the feeling of being deceived. . “Today it is quite easy to find a subscription for less than 180 euros per megawatt hour. But when you sign this summer at 800 or 900 euros and commit to 24 months, you can’t get out,” laments Stéphane Manigold, president of the Eclore group and Umih Paris-Ile-de-France restaurant.
The local authorities are not spared, as the communist senator Fabien Gay summed up in a question to the Ministry of Energy Transition in mid-December: “In August 2022, at the height of inflation, the MWh purchased at 1,000 euros on the market. For many local authorities, this moment coincided with the expiration of their power purchase contracts and consequently meant an obligation for them to quickly renegotiate new contracts. The government then invited local authorities to delay the signing of these new contracts. as much as possible. possible, many of them did not have room for maneuver to postpone the signing of their deed of sale.
Consequently, “these contracts were entered into on the basis of unreasonable prices (…) which no longer reflect the current course of energy prices”, explained the senator, denouncing “the perennial rent that alternative providers will receive”, that “it will be able to bill electricity at the price of the inflation peak and, at the same time, be supplied at the current market price, that is, at much lower prices.”
“Unbearable Situation”
Several communities or companies have thus seen their bill multiply by 2, 3 or even 5. On BFMTV, Julien Pedussel, an artisan-baker from Oise, describes a situation “that has become unbearable” when his supplier demanded 12,000 euros in December. , compared to less than 2,000 euros before the energy crisis. At the same time, the owner of a restaurant in Essonne interviewed by the parisian He said he was “poor” after the tacit renewal announced by email of his offer for a monthly payment of 17,500 euros for two years, instead of the 700 euros until then. However, TotalEnergies justifies an increase “established in coherence with the prices observed in the markets and our own supply costs.”
On Tuesday, Bruno Le Maire banged his fist on the table calling on energy providers to help small businesses more. For the Minister of Economy, “a certain number of energy trading companies do not respect at all the commitments acquired by virtue of the letter” signed last October and according to which the trading companies “commit together with the State to help all customers, both professional and residential, to overcome this crisis and in particular to offer energy supply contracts under the best conditions”.
Renegotiate or terminate?
While not all providers are concerned, it turns out that “in some cases, the prices that companies have signed seem very high to us, even taking into account the current context,” says Caroline Keller, Head of Information and Communication. of the Energy Ombudsman, an independent public authority responsible for proposing friendly solutions to disputes between energy providers and individuals or very small companies.
For fear of not being able to pay, some companies whose bills have skyrocketed in recent months after the renewal of their contract are seeking to back down. “We can always try to renegotiate,” Caroline Keller said. But still it is necessary that the energy provider agrees. To compel you to do so, it is best to be able to challenge certain elements of this new contract through a letter addressed to the mediation teams that certain providers have, with the help of a lawyer if necessary.
In fact, sometimes it is possible that certain signing conditions have not been respected. Suppliers, for example, have the obligation to notify their client at least one month in advance of the tacit renewal of their contract with the new rates. This notice period has even been increased to 2 months for providers who signed the letter in October. It may also be interesting to compare the prices offered by the provider with the reference prices published by the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) to denounce any abuse.
If they can’t renegotiate your contract, companies can always decide to terminate it. But before taking this step, “you have to look at the amount of the termination penalties and see if it really is interesting to sign a new contract with another provider,” warns Nicolas Leclerc. “If it is a three-year contract, the termination costs can be very high. You have to be very careful with that”, confirms Caroline Keller. As Bruno Le Maire announced on Tuesday, only bakers will be able at this stage to terminate their electricity supply contract free of charge in the event of a “prohibitive” price increase.
Find out about state aid
Even if prices have gone down in recent months, it is strongly recommended not to opt for “dynamic price” type offers. As the period is still uncertain, this would be particularly risky. Small companies whose power requirement is less than or equal to 36 kVA can, on the other hand, return to the regulated tariff in EDF for greater security.
Finally, the aid “which is also there to cushion” the scare remains to be known, recalls Nicolas Leclerc. Very small companies can benefit first from the tariff shield, while SMEs have access to an electricity cushion. Bercy services have also set up a help desk for paying electricity bills. Important support since adding all the aid, some merchants can obtain up to “a 40% discount on the electricity bill,” says Bruno Le Maire.
As for companies that have yet to sign up to an offer or negotiate a contract, Nicolas Leclerc considers current prices to be adequate, but recommends not “committing to too long a period, until the end of 2024.” “There is no reason to go further. The Arenh mechanism stops at the end of 2025 and the Russian supply problem may be resolved by then, which could drive prices down,” he predicted. “You have to look at the reference price published by the CRE. It can be a good basis for negotiation”, also advises Caroline Keller.
Received on Tuesday in Bercy, energy providers have recommitted themselves to take measures to support artisans and SMEs, in particular “by offering payment facilities to companies that have cash flow difficulties”. Bruno Le Maire warned for his part that those who still do not respect the letter signed in October “will see their name disclosed publicly so that each client knows who is behaving well and who is not respecting the rules.”
Source: BFM TV
