It’s the last straight line. On July 1, the regulated sales tariff (TRV) for gas will be stopped. This abolition was enacted by the energy and climate law of November 2019, which aimed to bring France into compliance with European law concerning competition in the gas market.
Today, 2.3 million households still benefit from TRV gas – mainly Engie customers – and around 8,000 condominiums. France has some 11 million gas subscribers in France, all suppliers combined, and half a million condominiums. Most therefore left TRV for fixed price or market price contracts.
But as often when switching from one service or technology to another, the last customers are the most difficult to contact or convince. Even if Engie has scrupulously followed the timetable provided for by law, with the sending of five letters since February 2020, the last of which in the first half of March.
“We have favored paper mail to address a clientele that is on average older than that of the other offers”, specifies Florence Fouquet, director in charge of Engie private clients. The group has, among other things, made a dedicated telephone number available to these specific subscribers, a web page and communicates information to them via their online customer account.
It therefore remained to ensure that on July 1, these diehards of TRV gas still benefit from a subscription. Engie is therefore announcing the implementation of a “Passerelle” offer, accessible only to these customers. For regulatory reasons and in the name of free competition, this offer is not marketed.
It will be automatically set up by default for subscribers still at TRV on July 1st. A way to ensure continuity of service. “Passerelle is a transition offer, which will end when the last TRV gas customer has changed subscription”, adds Florence Fouquet, without setting a deadline for its operation. This offer can be canceled at any time and free of charge.
From July 1, the Passerelle offer will therefore replace the TRV by default, but with a somewhat complex pricing process. The invoice will include two parts, one fixed, for the subscription, and the other variable according to gas consumption, its price on the wholesale markets and the subscriber’s municipal area. (there are six zones in France).
Engie will index the price of a kilowatt hour (kWh) of gas to an index calculated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), which depends 90% on the short-term gas price and 10% on the quarterly average. Which is a way to smooth prices.
It is impossible for the time being to know whether the end of the TRV will result in a surge in gas bills due to the very high volatility of gas prices on the wholesale markets. “The price of the Passerelle offer varies every month. Eligible customers had, between March and the end of April, an indicative price. The one applicable on July 1 will be known in mid-June”, specifies Florence Fouquet. Today, it is impossible to say that TRV customer bills will increase… or decrease.
Especially since they can also opt for other offers, including fixed price contracts. If these are generally a little more expensive, they have the advantage of offering more visibility. To help individuals decide, the National Energy Mediator has set up a comparator, accessible on the internet. It lists all the offers available, and allows consumers to choose their offer according to their needs and their location.
But beware, only TRV gas customers are concerned by the Passerelle offer. Even if the tariff shield put in place by the government to protect households from the surge must also end on June 30. But if prices were to rise again, it could be maintained until the end of the year.
Last year, gas prices soared, in particular due to the war in Ukraine and the stoppage of deliveries from Russia. Since then, the Europeans have reorganized themselves, making massive use of imports of liquefied natural gas by sea. Gas prices, while still high, have returned to 2020 levels.
But the uncertainties are far from over, in particular because of the blockages of French LNG terminals, linked to the social protest against the pension reform. France still has a few months to fill its gas reserves and protect consumers from a spike in their bills.
