The promise of a helping hand. The State will facilitate the signing of gas and electricity contracts for companies by providing its guarantee, said Wednesday the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, who received the main energy companies, including EDF, Engie, TotalEnergies and representatives of professional groups in the sector.
In exchange, the latter will undertake to “make at least one commercial proposal for any addressable professional consumer who requests it”, according to a charter signed by the energy companies.
“The State is going to put in place a public guarantee on the bank guarantees which are requested by suppliers from their customers when signing contracts”, specified the Minister, adding that this was a “fundamental element and totally innovative in energy contracts”. “We won’t let you down,” he promised companies facing kilowatt-hour prices that have sometimes increased five or ten times.
Lower the cost of energy
“The objective is to lower the cost of energy and allow more companies to have access to more offers,” a source at the ministry told AFP. “The principle is that the State takes part of the risk in the event of default by the customer,” the same source added. Bruno Le Maire declared that he “could perfectly understand the suppliers who find themselves faced with risks of default which are considerable”.
Last week, Bruno Le Maire accused the main suppliers of “not playing the game” by inflating the prices offered to SMEs. In the charter, they notably promised to warn customers not eligible for the regulated electricity tariff “at least two months in advance” before the renewal or the end of their contract. They also undertook to relay the government’s campaign for energy sobriety and to encourage companies to set up “a tool for monitoring and managing their energy consumption”.
“We will not allow rents to be built up on delusional energy prices”, also warned the Minister of the Economy, detailing the European mechanism aimed at limiting the price of a megawatt hour to 180 euros for producers. Bruno Le Maire explained that the money earned on the market by energy companies beyond this limit of 180 euros per MWh would be used by the government for the benefit of aid to companies and communities put in difficulty by sharp increases in their energy bills.