An alarming report from the National Energy Ombudsman accuses Enedis of overcharging households equipped with a Linky smart meter. Quickly check your invoices to see if you paid too much!
Electricity prices continue to rise at an astonishing speed, with more than 25% increase in one year, since the scheduled end of the tariff shield and the new price increases in February 2024. But another reason could explain particularly steep bills. And it is directly linked to Linky, the smart electricity meter which transmits and receives data remotely. Indeed, on May 14, the National Energy Ombudsman published a damning report against Enedis, accused of imposing illegal overbilling on households, often linked to this famous meter, now mandatory.
The report highlights several practices “particularly objectionable” from Enedis, the manager of the electricity distribution network in France. It appears from the study that the electricity network manager does not comply with article L.224-11 of the consumer code, which prohibits energy companies from billing their customers for consumption dating back more than fourteen months from last statement sent.
However, Enedis did not hesitate to send certain households invoices relating to periods of consumption sometimes exceeding two years. Worse still, these illegal invoice adjustments have increased by 64% in one year! Especially since these delays are generally the fault of the manager… Result: some households paid more since, in the meantime, the price of the service had increased.
The Mediator notes in passing that “Enedis refuses in too many cases to follow the recommendations of the National Energy Mediator”. This was for example the case for a 2019 case, where the customer was billed for an adjustment two years after consumption – so we are a long way from fourteen legal months. The Mediator proposed to Enedis and the supplier that each bear part of the shortfall. If EDF accepted, the manager categorically refused to pay its 59% share.
Also pointed out are its much too long commissioning times. To be effective, a contract signed with a supplier must be activated by the manager. If this step is not followed, the customer can still benefit from energy in their home, with a big hole in their wallet. Because he is then forced to resort to a supply at the so-called price of “cash selling”for an amount sometimes going more than double that what a supplier would have charged… However, it turns out that many commissionings have been delayed “on the unfounded grounds of the absence of a Linky meter”. We can therefore only advise you to monitor your electricity bills carefully and to contact the Mediator if you detect an anomaly.