The tariff for using public electricity networks (Turpe) could increase by 21% by 2030, according to the Court of Auditors.
The reason? The cost of investments planned to decarbonize energy.
According to the report, one of the solutions to avoid too great an impact on consumers could be to “adjust” the size of the dividends granted to shareholders of RTE and Enedis.
Should we expect a further rise in electricity prices in the coming years? The Court of Auditors in any case warns against this risk in a report published this Wednesday, December 18. In this text, the Sages warn that the tariff for using public electricity networks, the Turpe, could increase by up to 21% by 2030 for the medium and low voltage network. The increase in this amount, which represents a good part of the cost of consumers’ electricity bill, could therefore have an impact on their wallets.
As the Court of Auditors recalls, the Turpe “charges users of electricity networks with the operating costs and capital costs of these networks, which include depreciation and remuneration of assets during their operating life“. In other words, it involves users of the electricity network in the development and maintenance of the infrastructure necessary for its energy supply.
Investments in decarbonization to be absorbed
To understand the impact resulting from such an increase, we must first look at the way electricity is financed in France. According to EDF, last year Turpe recovered around 22% of the price paid on their energy bill by a consumer. Production, storage and marketing costs also represent the majority of the total amount to be paid (54%), to which must be added VAT (15%) and certain other taxes (TIFCE, CTA, etc.). The significant increase in the Turpe, therefore accounting for almost a quarter of the amount of the total bill to be paid for a user, would therefore not be without consequences on the price of energy.
What reasons could explain this increase? According to the report of the Court of Auditors, the investments of RTE and Enedis in the development of renewable energies will have to be absorbed in Turpe tariffs. “The coming years are characterized by very strong growth forecast investment needs, in particular to respond to the objectives of decarbonization of the economy“, specifies the report. Its authors recall that RTE has planned 100 billion investments in this area by 2040, while Enedis for its part plans an investment need of 96 billion euros.
Shareholder remuneration in question
The forecast of an increase to 21% of the Turpe nevertheless constitutes the pessimistic scenario put forward by the Court of Auditors. “Such an increase in prices should essentially be neutralized by the effect of the expected increase in consumption, which the investments are supposed to accompany“, qualifies the report, which nevertheless points out “the uncertainties” on the developments to come in the coming years on the subject.
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If it was nevertheless necessary to find new means of financing these investments, the impact on consumers would not necessarily be the solution to consider, according to the Court of Auditors. The Sages recommend instead “dividend policy adjustment” vis-à-vis shareholders to compensate for these expenses. “Financing needs cannot justify setting the remuneration of operators’ assets at levels that do not reflect the very low level of risk to which they are exposed.“, underlines the Court. It will therefore be a “arbitrage“to be carried out between”shareholder remuneration” et “moderation of the price paid by consumers“.
