France extends energy price cap measure to the end of 2022
The bouclier tarifaire means that gas prices are frozen and electricity prices are capped at a 4% increase
France first introduced an energy price freeze on November 1, 2021
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France’s energy price cap has been extended to the end of this year, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced yesterday (June 23).
The bouclier tarifaire, first introduced in November last year, froze gas prices at October 2021 rates and also limited electricity prices from increasing by more than 4%. The measure was supposed to end on June 30 but has now been extended.
Ms Borne said that a decree announcing the extension would be published in the coming days.
“The price cap provides consumers in France with guaranteed tariffs and it is the State that pays the difference between market rates, which have obviously risen considerably in France and in other European countries,” France’s prime minister’s office stated.
Brussels-based think tank Bruegel estimates that France will spend €38billion in measures designed to counter rising prices.
France could go without Russian gas this winter
France’s energy transition minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher has said that France could soon go without the use of Russian gas, as long as the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) stocks are sufficient.
Read more: EU votes to reduce Russian oil imports by 90% before 2023
“In absolute terms and as we benefit from liquefied natural gas, we could do without Russian gas, assuming that all LNG deliveries arrive on time and that we can comfortably top up our strategic stocks,” she told BFM Business yesterday (June 23).
“We are taking the maximum number of measures as soon as we can to avoid any difficulties in the future and to avoid having to force manufacturers to reduce their electricity consumption.”
She also said that France would supply its European neighbours, such as Germany, Poland, Czechia or Slovakia with gas if they needed it.
Elsewhere, Ms Borne has said that the country is aiming to have close to 100% of its gas reserves by the beginning of autumn and before the winter period.
She also said that a new LNG storage terminal would be opened to increase France’s gas reserves.
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