Gas bills rise in France: compare energy providers

Gas bills are set to rise for many French homes by 12% from July 1, but there are some ways to limit the impact, including keeping a closer eye on your consumption levels, and shopping around for a better deal.

Gas distribution network la Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE) has announced that from July 1, the price of gas will rise by 11.7% month-on-month (June to July) due to “an increase in distribution network tariffs”. This is the fee paid to transport the gas to homes.

The price has also been affected by the replacement of Russian gas with US sources.

Read also: Gas bills in France to rise by almost 12% on July 1 

The benchmark gas price will average €129.20 per megawatt-hour (MWh), or 13 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) including tax, from July 1.

This means that the average bill for a residential customer (as opposed to a business customer) would be €1,184 per year at the July price, considerably more than the June price (€1,060). 

Around 10.5 million households in France use gas as their main source of energy. The benchmark is made up of a fixed price (your subscription), plus your household’s variable gas consumption.

Yet, customers may be able to save money by shopping around for a better deal, and keeping a close eye on consumption. Here are some tips.

Shop around 

Changing your energy provider to a better deal could save you up to 10% on your bills in the short-term (customers can cancel contracts at any time without penalties, from 12 months onwards). 

Figures from the energy ombudsman le Médiateur de l’énergie shows that a family living in a gas-heated home consuming 14 megawatt-hours of gas a year could save considerable money by switching providers. 

For example, the bill with Ohm Energie would be €1,374, compared to TotalEnergie (€1,455), Happ-e (a subsidiary of Engie, €1,513) and EDF (€1,518). 

Another company, Hello Watt, is also offering subscriber households a 15% discount for new sign-ups.

Read also: Electricity bills: Engie and other firms criticised for bad practice 

Monitor your consumption

Installing monitoring tools - and keeping a close eye on them - could help you save significantly.

These include the Gazpar meter installed by GRDF, or third-party applications such as Lite, or Hello Watt.

Knowing how much you tend to consume, keeping track of levels - especially during the coldest months of the year, and closing up any areas of energy ‘waste’ can help you to save considerably.

“Knowing how much energy you consume and when allows you to monitor and better understand how your home works, compare your consumption or spot and control energy wastage,” states the French agency for ecological transition (Ademe, l’Agence de la transition écologique).

Hello Watt estimates that households can save up to 15% doing this.

Energy renovation

In the longer term, you may be able to save on energy use by renovating your home to be more eco-friendly by permanently shoring up any energy leaks.

Ademe states that improving insulation can reduce heat loss by 20-25%, meaning that you do not need as much gas to keep the home at a good temperature. 

However, many owners may be able to go even further by replacing their old gas boiler with a new heat pump, removing the need for gas completely. 

Read also: Rising energy bills in France: we recap the aid available

The MaPrimeRénov' scheme, which offers financial aid for eco-friendly home renovations, has this year increased its subsidies for heat pumps. 

While the work may represent a larger upfront cost, it may help owners save considerably on energy bills overall in the years to come. 

For more information on the aid available for eco-friendly renovations, see the government France Rénov website here (in French).