2026 could well be a black year for household bills. Indeed, the French Electricity Union is sounding the alarm on Tuesday about the surge in electricity prices expected in 2026, according to a study commissioned from the firm Colombus Consulting. Experts fear a 4% increase, or an average of 200 euros more on a household’s annual bill, but this amount could be multiplied by 5, or an increase of “900 euros, or even more” per year.
At issue: energy saving certificates (CEE) and their impact on prices. These energy saving certificates are a system that requires energy suppliers to finance energy saving actions, such as housing insulation or industrial heat recovery, under penalty of penalties. They are “the main tools” of France’s energy efficiency policy, which aims to reduce its energy consumption by 30% in 2030 compared to 2012, recalls the Court of Auditors.
Already 164 euros of annual additional cost per household
However, the institution stresses that the system is “more and more complex” And “now relies on multiple and unstable rules and mechanisms“, differentiated according to energy or suppliers, without providing proof of “the reality of the savings obtained.” The Court of Auditors estimates their average additional cost on household bills per year today at 164 euros. It should be noted that in 2026, new energy sobriety objectives will be imposed on the energy sector via the CEE, with, in fact, significant impacts on French people’s bills.
“Energy suppliers pass on the costs of obtaining the certificates in their sales prices. The cost associated with the CEE is therefore borne by households and companies in the tertiary sector, being economically similar to an energy tax,” criticizes the Court. Energy savings “overestimated”, an increasingly device “complex” weighing on households: the Court of Auditors calls for reform “in depth” energy saving certificates, if this system were to be maintained.
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