Under pressure to save his government, Michel Barnier gave up “increase taxes on electricity in the 2025 finance bill”. “This will allow a reduction in electricity prices of 14%, which will therefore go well beyond the 9% reduction initially planned” on February 1, i.e. the next revision of the regulated tariff (TRV), also welcomes the Prime Minister. Good news for the consumer but, on closer inspection, this announcement hides numerous future increases which will limit the expected fall in the TRV.
What tax is Michel Barnier talking about?
Roughly speaking, taxes represent a third of the consumer's total bill, made up of energy consumption, subscription, taxes, and even taxes on taxes. When the Prime Minister announces that he will renounce the increase in taxes on electricity, he is necessarily imprecise.
This is the excise on electricity (the former internal tax on final electricity consumption, TICFE) which represents 7% on average of a household's annual bill. It is currently 21 €/MWh and will increase to 32 €/MWh in February, more or less its level of February 2022. At that time, as part of the tariff shield, the excise on electricity had been lowered at €0.50 per MWh to support households.
The 2025 budget even planned to go beyond €32/MWh. It is this excess that the government is renouncing according to Michel Barnier's announcements. This surcharge also explained why the reduction in the bill for a household having subscribed to a TRV contract was limited to 9%, despite the fall in electricity prices on the wholesale market.
Also read. Electricity and gas bill: 75% of households heat less because of the price
Will other taxes increase in 2025?
The TICFE is not the only tax to increase, the weight of which will increase the electricity bill of the French in 2025. In fact, the government intends to put an end to the reduced rate of VAT on gas and electricity subscriptions. It would therefore increase from 5.5 to 20%, or around €21 for electricity prices and €14 for gas, according to calculations by UFC Que Choisir. But the Selectra comparator estimates that the increase could reach €45 per year for a household heating with gas.
Another contribution which will increase next year, the “Turpe”. Customers will have to pay more for network maintenance which already accounts for 30% of the total bill. The increase, perceived by network managers and not the State, will be around 10%. The “Turpe” would increase to €0.066/kWh on a residential customer’s bill.
Also read. Peak hours, off-peak hours: a good plan to lower my electricity bill?
According to our calculations, on average because it depends on the contract and consumption, a household would have to pay €80 in additional taxes on its annual electricity bill, after Michel Barnier's gesture and without counting the Turpe.
14% drop in February for the TRVE: what result?
Despite everything, a drop is coming and 14% remains more advantageous than 9% after an overall increase of 40% over the past two years. “For a TRVE family with an average consumption of 5.7 MWh of electricity per year, a 14% reduction in TRV represents around €222 in annual savings, calcule HelloWatt. For a family on the TRV consuming 10 MWh of electricity per year, a 14% reduction in the TRV represents €380 in savings. »
Despite sometimes riskier contracts, greater gains are also possible with alternative suppliers or contracts less protective than the TRV in the event of a crisis. Based on our two examples, the best offers offer additional annual gains of €110 and €220… despite the upcoming tax increase.
