Energy company TotalEnergies announced on Tuesday that it would offer a slightly more advantageous cap on the pump price of its fuels to its electricity and gas customers.
“From September 2, all TotalEnergies’ private customers for Electricity and Gas in France will benefit from a ceiling price of 1.94 euros/liter instead of 1.99 euros/liter for all fuels at stations,” the French giant announced in a press release. TotalEnergies currently has 4 million private customers for gas or electricity, according to the group.
The measure will have little immediate impact on the purchasing power of the majority of customers: the price of a litre of diesel in France was on average 1.63 euros and that of a litre of Super Unleaded 95 was 1.78 euros on 23 August, according to the latest survey from the General Directorate for Energy and Climate, which is part of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Prices vary depending on the station
But prices vary from one station to another. As of August 26, nearly a third of the group’s stations were displaying pump prices higher than 1.94 euros, mainly “in rural areas and on motorways, where fuel supply costs are higher for logistical and operating reasons,” TotalEnergies said.
Prices could continue to rise and affect more stations, given the volatility of oil prices, which have soared in recent weeks, mainly due to geopolitical fears in the Middle East that threaten the region’s supply.
“Among our 4 million subscribers, those who mainly live in the countryside or who use the motorways […] will benefit from 1.94 instead of 1.99 […] There are disparities across the territory and […] “It’s a measure that protects purchasing power,” declared the group’s boss, Patrick Pouyanné, on BFMTV on Tuesday.
The measure to lower the ceiling for the group’s subscribers had been mentioned by Patrick Pouyanné at the beginning of July, during the Aix-en-Provence Economic Meetings. He had then mentioned the “rising anger” regarding energy prices, against a backdrop of the rise of the extreme right, between the two rounds of the legislative elections.
To benefit from this measure, customers simply need to present their TotalEnergies loyalty card (Club card) “and the ceiling of 1.94 euros/litre will be immediately applied to their receipt”, TotalEnergies indicated.
Patrick Pouyanné also indicated that the ceiling price of 1.99 euros per liter of fuel applied to all customers at the group’s stations would continue in 2025: “the 1.99 continues in 24, it will continue in 25,” he said. The group has never provided a figure on the possible cost of this measure, implemented for the first time in 2023, when prices were very high.