The Chief Energy Officer bangs her fist on the table to put an end to the “unacceptable, but very minor, abuses” of alternative electricity suppliers. In an interview given to our colleagues from the Tribune Dimanche, the president of the Energy Regulatory Commission campaigns to strengthen control of this market in order to protect consumers and avoid abuses, such as those of which Ohm Énergie is suspected and Mint. “It is not normal that these companies have no prudential obligations. We need to make progress on this. Today it’s the jungle,” notes the former Minister for Housing.
To bring order to this jungle, Emmanuelle Wargon intends to “tighten the supply authorization right” because “today, if you wish to penetrate this market, there are few economic or financial obligations incumbent on you” . “A real problem” allowing the free birth of small electricity suppliers to compete with EDF. At the consumer’s peril. This is why the former minister wants to impose rules on them similar to those that apply to banks and insurance companies. “If they wish to welcome customers, they will have to prove that they have really covered themselves in advance to supply them,” she explains. A protective measure to be accompanied by a clarification of consumer law regarding energy contracts.
“We propose to create three categories of fixed offers, and no more: fixed price offers, offers indexed to the regulated sales price which would be based on a figure calculated by us, and free offers. To change category, a new contract would be required,” explains the boss of the CRE. “In addition, the method of setting the price could not change during the first year. The price must be recognized, without any ambiguity when subscribing,” she adds. A tightening of the screws which should make it possible to put an end to “dubious offers where the prices are known ex post”.
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Measures put on the table could “appear in the bill relating to energy sovereignty, which should also strengthen our powers of sanction in the event of a breach”, specifies Emmanuelle Wargon without giving a precise deadline. The text should apply “within a year or a little more”.