The French gas bill should see a new increase in July, this time linked to an increase in the price of distribution networks announced on Friday by the Energy Regulatory Commission (Cre) and the network manager GRDF. This network usage tariff (known as “ATRD”) will increase by an average of 27.5% on July 1, according to a Cre decision taken for four years.
The impact on the residential consumer’s bill will amount to +5.5%, or +7.30 euros including tax per month for an average heating customer as presented in the gas sales benchmark price (PRVG) published each month by Cre, estimates the energy policeman. This will be +10.4%, or +2.20 euros including tax per month on the total bill of an average domestic hot water/cooking customer as presented in the PRVG.
“Make the model more resilient”
This tariff represents the gas transport costs borne by GRDF and invoiced by suppliers to consumers. According to GRDF, three quarters of the announced increase is a carryover effect due to the vagaries of the previous period, during which costs increased.
Over the past four years, “the price has remained stable and has therefore not been able to cover all of the company’s costs”, explains the group. “GRDF and Cre worked together to evolve the framework and structure of the new tariff in order to prepare for the future and make the model more resilient.”
According to Cre, “this tariff makes it possible to maintain a high level of security for the networks and to actively contribute to the energy transition, in particular by allowing the integration of biogas into the networks”. The government had already almost doubled since January 1 the excise on gas, a tax paid by gas suppliers which will be passed on to subscribers’ bills at a fixed price.