Alternative electricity suppliers offer interesting contracts to save money, but EDF also offers a particularly effective option to reduce your bill … in some conditions.
The opening up to competition from the electricity distribution market in France has enabled the emergence of new suppliers and the appearance of “market prices” offers. These contracts with attractive prices are however not without risk, because the prices charged vary depending on the fluctuations in the wholesale market of electricity, and can sometimes explode all at once,
This is exactly what happened during the energy crisis in 2022, during which some consumers on these “market offers” saw the amount of their invoice fly away. So much so that their suppliers have kindly asked them to terminate their subscription … to return to EDF (and by the way resell very dear electricity purchased at low prices to the historic supplier as part of ARENH, But that’s another story).
To protect yourself from market variations and take advantage of a regulated energy price, the best solution therefore remains to take out a contract at EDF at the regulated electricity sale rate (TRV), the famous blue price. And while taking advantage of the security offered by regulated prices, it is also possible to achieve substantial savings on your invoice, because the French electrician offers interesting pricing options.
The blue price offered by EDF is made up of three formulas. The best known base option simply consists of a fixed price contract, whatever the day of the week or the time of the day, With a kWh at 0.1906 euros since February 1, 2025. The hollow hour option, also very popular, offers a variable kWh price depending on the time of day, at € 0.2028/kWh in full hours (HP), often from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 0.1608 €/kWh in off -peak hours (HC), from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in general.
And for a few years, there has been a third formula at the blue rate which has saved even more substantial savings: The tempo option. In this one, the price per kWh varies both depending on the time of day and the day of the year. Concretely, EDF attributes a color every day, depending on the demand for electricity on the network: blue, white or red. The blue and white days take advantage of very advantageous prices, while the KWH costs (a lot) more on the red days, in order to encourage customers to consume less to relieve the network.
And the price differences are substantial: in the blue day, the kWh is € 0.1296 in HC and € 0.1609 in HP; In white day, the KWH is € 0.1486 in HC and, € 01,894 in HP; And finally in red day, the kWh is € 0.1568 in HC and … at, € 07562 in HP! On six different rates, five are lower than the basic prices, and only one is (very) superior. Fortunately, the maximum number of days of each color in the year is capped, namely 300 blue days, 43 white days and only 22 red days. And good news, Saturdays and Sundays are never red.
Thus the vast majority of days benefit from a very advantageous kWh price throughout the year with the tempo option, which generally makes it possible to achieve several hundred euros in savings per year, housing and composition of the equivalent household. However, this option also involves fairly heavy constraints in terms of energy consumption, and can even be counterproductive for certain homes.
Indeed, it may happen that several days in a row, or even a full week, are placed in red, as it is seen in the image above for the month of January 2025. For households living in Poorly insulated accommodation, it is almost impossible not to heat at all during the day over long periods, especially in the presence of fragile people such as children or seniors. And for those living in collective housing, it is not always possible to postpone certain consumptions in off-peak hours, such as washing machine, certain co-ownerships prohibiting it for questions of noise pollution.
The EDF tempo option can therefore be an excellent formula for making significant savings on its electricity bill, but under certain conditions. It is necessary to be able to precisely manage its equipment, in particular of domestic hot water and heating, and to postpone its consumption on red days, even for several in a row. This price option is therefore aimed rather at households living in an individual pavilion, of recent and well -isolated construction. In addition, the energy regulatory commission wishes to gradually identify the price of the tempo option, and it should therefore see its price increased in the coming months.