An agreement has been reached between the government and the energy suppliers. “I am happy to announce that after these three hours of discussion, the energy suppliers have agreed to guarantee all very small businesses (TPE) in France that they will not pay more than 280 euros per megawatt hour in average their electricity over the year 2023”, announced Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy and Finance, alongside Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Trade, Crafts and Tourism and Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Ecological Transition.
The suppliers have thus “responded very clearly to the firm request which had been formulated by the President of the Republic last evening (Editor’s note: this Thursday, January 5): to ensure that no very small company has to pay more than 280 euros per megawatt-hour on average in 2023,” he continued.
The measure concerns companies that have signed a contract with a supplier “during the second half of 2022” specified the ministers, “at a time when we are seeing a spike in electricity prices”. The rate therefore applies from January 1 to December 31, 2023, without retroactivity.
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“This guaranteed price is excellent news for all VSEs: bakers, butchers, restaurateurs, linens (…), who had started to sign, or had already signed contracts of 300, 350, 400 euros Satisfied Bruno Le Maire. It’s a huge relief.”
“There will be no renegotiation contract by contract”, rejoiced the Minister, who was delighted to have chosen the “path of simplicity” during these discussions with energy suppliers by choosing the establishment of a guaranteed rate.
In fact, very small entrepreneurs are invited “to go to their customer areas or to the taxes.gouv.fr site to obtain the form available to them. (…) They will have to specify that they are indeed a TPE and register that they wish to benefit from this guaranteed rate”. The form is then to be returned to the suppliers, explains the minister, who invites business leaders to do so as soon as possible.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher in turn welcomed the decision taken by the energy suppliers who “played the game”. “It is now necessary that the VSEs take advantage of this device, that they report themselves as quickly as possible to their suppliers”, she insisted. The forms in question should be available “in the coming days”.