Sharing value does not only concern employees. Households can also benefit from it. The electricity supplier and producer Ohm Energie launched a new one-year fixed price offer in October, based on this principle. Called “Modulo”, it aims to “revolutionize” electricity prices thanks to the boom in energy production from solar panels. The goal: to encourage households to consume their electricity at times when energy production is completely carbon-free.
Because as the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has already pointed out, the French electricity system has been significantly transformed in recent years. When the sun is at its zenith, in the middle of the day, the production of renewable energy is maximum. “During the summer period in particular, solar production now reaches unprecedented levels, reaching peaks of up to 13 gigawatts – the equivalent of around ten nuclear reactors”underlines the supplier in a press release.
Prices half as high as EDF
However, the price of electricity is governed by the principle of supply and demand. If there is excess supply, the cost falls for suppliers, who can then pass it on to their customers. So much so that in France the electricity production of photovoltaic panels was so much greater that household demand at these times of the day led electricity prices to fall, reaching negative prices. Electricity producers then pay to sell their energy, but some would pay even more if they decided to stop and then restart their production.
Electricity: this winter, France will surely beat its export record!
A boon for households? Not yet, because as Enedis points out, 60% of households subscribing to the off-peak hours option benefit from reduced rates at night only, lasting only 8 hours, and at less attractive levels. “To this day, traditional offers continue to charge more for electricity during the day than at night!” protests Ohm Energie, which believes it is the first supplier to allow its customers to benefit from these hours “solar”. Where providers offer about three of their eight off-peak hours in the middle of the day, “Modulo” offers five, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at prices “defying all competition” in the words of François Joubert, general director of Ohm Énergie. At 10 euro cents per kilowatt hour, electricity is supplied at a price “almost twice lower than the regulated sales rates (TRV) for electricity excluding tax marketed by EDF during peak hours.”
Off-peak hours reform is coming
Added to this special system are the classic eight off-peak hours positioned at night. That is 13 off-peak hours out of the 24 hours of the day. All for 7 months, from April 1 to October 31. From the beginning of spring to the beginning of autumn, the production of photovoltaic panels is in fact optimized.
In addition to these seven months, 15 days, falling on public holidays and weekends, are even offered at 5 cents per kilowatt hour, or approximately “75% cheaper » than the TRV as a basic option at EDF. They will be deployed on days when electricity prices “fall close to zero” or will become “negatives”. The dates of these ultra-competitive days are communicated at the latest the day before at 4 p.m. for the following day.
Amazing! These water mill owners want to reconnect them to the EDF network
Ohm Energy's approach is in fact an anticipation of the future reform of off-peak hours imagined by the CRE. The market regulator launched a public consultation on October 17 to “modernize” this system which allows households in businesses to pay less for their electricity, and thus “encourage people to shift their consumption habits towards periods when energy is abundant and less expensive”. It should lead to the generalization of off-peak hours during summer afternoons from August 2025.
