Soon back to school ! Are you a student and about to move into your studio or roommate? In this guide, we show you all the steps for your electricity/gas contract and our tips for paying less!
The start of the school year is fast approaching! For all those who are going to move into a new apartment, whether for the first time or for a change of scenery, the list of administrative procedures, small requirements and hassles can be a source of anxiety. Among all these back-to-school resolutions, don’t forget to open or modify your energy contract. You have no idea of the gas or electricity prices and don’t know the amounts that will be displayed on your next bill? Don’t panic, here is a handy little memo to make sure you don’t forget anything, as well as some simulations carried out in partnership with the comparison site Olawatt (Olawatt is a site of the CCM Benchmark group, like Linternaute.com) to help you see things more clearly.
Put the meter in your name
First scenario, you are alone in this accommodation:
- To put the meter in your name, you must first choose your energy supplier (see below).
- This process must be carried out 15 days before your move in. This will ensure that you have electricity in your accommodation when you arrive. To subscribe, you will need the PDL (Delivery Point) number and, if you also need gas, the PCE (Counting and Estimate Point) number. You may also be asked for the address and name of the former tenant.
- If you already had an apartment before this one, don’t forget to terminate the contract with your former supplier.
Second scenario, you are moving in as a roommate:
- Your energy contract must be debited from a single bank account. A single person responsible for payment must therefore be designated among the joint tenants. Some suppliers may, however, offer to put the energy contract in the name of all joint tenants, placing the other joint tenants as co-holders of the contract. Remember to ask the question after you have agreed with your roommates.
- The joint tenancy agreement may specify the methods chosen for the management of the energy contract. This contract between all the roommates makes it possible to fairly divide the expenses and secure the management of the roommate on many points.
How to choose your energy contract?
The opening of the energy market has revolutionized everything. As a reminder, in 2007, the energy market was opened up to competition. For consumers, it was the beginning of the choice of supplier: the obligation to subscribe to their electricity contract with EDF and their gas contract with GDF was revoked. Around thirty suppliers currently share the market. They compete with each other by offering different price lists and services.
- Choosing your supplier is not only a question of budget but you can save a lot of money by choosing an offer adapted to your needs.
- The price list is linked to the services offered with your offer: online or telephone customer service, green energy or not, consumption monitoring service, fixed or indexed price, billing rate, payment method, etc. Remember to compare everything before making your choice!
Which contract for me? Some typical examples
We have imagined 3 typical student households to help you imagine your consumption and thus make the best choice.
- 1st example. For a studio occupied by a student: 20m² apartment in Rennes. Heating and hot water: collective. Our comparison is based on an annual consumption of 1128 kWh and allows us to compare an EDF Tarif Bleu offer, an Online offer from Total Direct Energie, an Eco offer from Planète Oui and a Small Conso offer from Ohm Energie.
The EDF bill for this student comes to €279. With Ohm Energie, a single student in an apartment can save thanks to contracts dedicated to small consumption, such as Ohm Énergie, thanks to which the annual bill can be reduced by €23 according to our estimates.
- 2nd example: a roommate in an apartment for 2 students. The apartment, located in Lyon, measures 50 m², in a roommate of 2, and it is necessary to count heating and hot water with electricity. Here too, we are comparing for an annual consumption of 8402 kWh an EDF Tarif Bleu offer, an Online offer from Total Direct Energie and two newcomers, the Eco offer from Vattenfall and the Online and Green offer from Mint Energie.
In this case, the EDF bill amounts to €718 per student. It is with Mint Énergie that colocation can save the most, reducing the annual bill per student to €632, i.e. a saving of €86 per year all the same!
- 3rd example: For a large shared house for 5 students. The house measures 120m2, for a roommate of 5 in Lille where the heating and hot water run on gas. This time, our study is based on an annual consumption of 2480 kWh in electricity combined with 32479 kWh per year in gas (zone 1, tariff zone B1/B2i). It compares four offers: Tarifs Bleus and Regulated Tariffs from EDF and Engie, the Online Offer from Total Direct Energie, the Webeo offer from Eni and the Super offer from Méga Energie.
The annual energy bill amounts to €2,250, or €450 per roommate at regulated electricity and gas rates. With a cheaper offer like that of Mega Energie, each roommate could save €38 per year.
Do you want to know more, compare offers for your own consumption and obtain simulations? See you on the Olawatt questionnaire!