Today is an EDF ‘red day’ in France: what does it change and when are next ones?
Hundreds of thousands of households could see their electricity costs soar
There are 22 red days between November 1 and March 31
GERARD BOTTINO/Shutterstock
The cost of electricity for the hundreds of thousands of households subscribed to EDF’s ‘Tempo’ contract will see the cost of their electricity triple today (December 27) during peak hours (between 6:00 and 22:00).
The Tempo contract divides the days of the year into three colours: blue, white and red.
On blue days, of which there are 300 during a calendar year, the cost of electricity is cheaper by 37% during off-peak hours and 40% during peak hours. On the 43 white days of the year, electricity is 28% cheaper during off-peak hours and 30% during peak hours.
However, on red days, electricity can be up to three times more expensive during peak hours but still 24% cheaper during off-peak hours. There are 22 red days a year, in the winter between November 1 and March 31.
The aim of the ‘Tempo’ contract is to reduce the pressure on the electricity grid and avoid the risk of power cuts. Around 875,000 households are on this type of contract, which has been on offer since 1998.
Read more: Living off-grid in France: A couple’s 40-year plus success story
How to reduce bills
For example, for a 120m² house with four residents and an average consumption of 30 kWh a day, the electricity bill will rise from around €8 on a normal day to €23 on a red day.
To avoid such as rise, it is recommended to turn down the heating, delay putting on a wash and to not use other high electrical consumption appliances. Instead, use household appliances between 22:00 and 6:00.
There can be up to five consecutive red days but they cannot take place on weekends or bank holidays.
You can find a calendar for when the next red days are here. However, these can be rescheduled or are yet to be decided, hence you may see some orange days. These can turn a different colour when a decision is made.
Users are informed of the next day's colour the day before, by SMS, email or on their app, giving them some time to make preparations.
There will be 15 red days remaining until March 31 from tomorrow.
Read more: Brittany to bury power lines in attempt to limit outages from storms
