The amount of bills has pushed households to limit the heating of their homes. Energy consumption was a concern for 85% of households.
In 2024, a third of French people will have suffered from the cold in their homes. This is twice as much as in 2020. According to the Energy Mediator, it is the amount of bills that pushes households to limit the heating of their homes. One week before the national day to combat energy poverty, November 12, the Mediator reminds that “energy poverty is still high” but notices that she “is a little less present in people’s minds” of people living in the 2,007 households surveyed in September.
In 2024, energy consumption was a concern for 85% of households, compared to 89% in 2023. But in the acts, 75% of households declare having restricted heating to avoid having too high bills, a proportion which remains significant even if it is decreasing after five consecutive years of strong growth. And for 28% of consumers, energy bills were so high that they struggled to pay them. In the event of unpaid bills, a household risks a power cut from its supplier or a reduction in the electrical power of its home if it is a beneficiary of the energy check or if its supplier has decided to no longer make cuts .
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A drop in energy cuts, but an increase in power reductions
The number of interventions for unpaid bills exceeded one million in 2023, according to the Energy Mediator: 265,000 electricity and gas cuts, down 18% over one year, but reductions in electricity power have increased by 15%, to 736,000. Frédérique Feriaud, general director of the services of the national energy mediator, recommends “the complete ban on power cuts in the event of unpaid bills”. “Electricity is an essential product and yet, sometimes, we have the feeling that in practice it is not considered as such”since for water for example, water cuts for unpaid bills are prohibited, she continues. She believes that it is necessary “a minimum service with reduced power to operate essential electrical appliances, such as the fridge or a telephone to call social services”.
Furthermore, among the 30% of households who report having suffered from the cold in 2024, 32% identify poor insulation in their home as the cause. To reduce their energy consumption, 29% of households are considering insulation work, less than in 2023 (32%). The financial reason remains the main reason (88% of cases) for a change in behavior in energy expenditure, ahead of ecological reasons, put forward by 44% of households having adapted their practices (these two reasons can be combined).
