Confirmed: Electricity bills to drop by 15% from February for most French households

Electricity prices for households on a regulated tariff in France will drop by 15% from February 1, as the global energy situation improves.

It is the first time in ten years that prices on the tariff will fall, having risen nearly 40% in the last three years alone.

The announcement, made by the Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE) affects around 24 millions properties in France, or 70% of primary households that are on a regulated tariff (tarif bleu) with national energy company EDF.

A household of four which uses electricity for their heating, cooking and for charging an electric car can expect to save up to €650 per year from February 1, CRE calculates. 

A couple with ‘small levels of electricity consumption’ are set to save €107 per year, the CRE said.

An increase in global energy production – which was severely affected in 2022 by the start of the War in Ukraine – and increased nuclear capacity in France is behind the drop. 

At the same time, France’s ‘energy shield’ (bouclier tarifaire), a series of measures brought in during 2022 to combat the rise in electricity prices, will officially end on February 1, 2025, although in most cases this will have little impact.

Households not on a regulated tariff may see prices increase due to some electricity consumption taxes returning after being suspended since 2022.

In some cases however these non-regulated rates are still cheaper than the tarif bleu. The CRE recommends households check to see whether their contract is competitive, and if not, to consider switching. 

Our articles below offer information for those looking to switch.

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Energy consumption tax returns

The level of the reduction in bills takes into account the effect of an electricity consumption tax (taxe intérieure de consommation finale sur l’électricité, or TICFE) returning.

This tax was suspended as part of the energy shield measures in 2022, helping reduce the effect of price increases on electricity in France from that point.

It will now return but at a lower level than that previously suggested.

An increase in the TICFE tax to the level it would have reached via natural progression had it not been temporarily suspended in 2022 was planned by former prime minister Michel Barnier as part of his 2025 budget. This was set to raise around €3.4 billion and so reduce the amount by which bills would have fallen in 2025.

The increase was widely criticised and eventually scrapped in a last-minute attempt to win the support of the far-right in voting through his budget - they had called the tax increase a ‘red line’ on supporting the budget.

The new government of prime minister François Bayrou has not announced if it plans to increase the tax as part of its upcoming 2025 budget, however it is thought unlikely to do so if such a measure will risk another vote of no confidence.

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