MEPs vote to increase EDF’s electricity tariffs for its competitors
EDF’s business was invited to the heart of the hemicycle. On the occasion of the examination of the Purchasing Power Emergency Act, on the night of Thursday, July 21 to Friday, July 22, MPs agreed – contrary to government advice – to raising the regulated price at which EDF has to sell part of its nuclear energy to its competitors . An obligation imposed on her since 2011 as part of regulated access to historic core stream (Arenh).
Thanks to a coalition, the opposition parties backed the Republican (LR) amendment, which aimed to bring this fixed rate up from the current €42, by 167 votes in favor and 136 against “at least 49.50 euros” per megawatt hour (MWh). And that from 1ah January 2023. An increase in judged “the interest of the company EDF”, According to Olivier Marleix, head of the LR deputies, he recalled that the 42 euros were well below market prices.
Will this decision be beneficial at a time when the company is struggling with high levels of debt, compounded by the shutdown of some of its nuclear power plants? And what about consumers? Internally, this gesture is welcomed, even if the response is unanimous enough to say it doesn’t go far enough. “By raising this tariff, MEPs have shown responsibilitysummarizes Alexandre Grillat, head of EDF’s CFE-CGC. At 42 euros, EDF sells at a loss and increases its deficit. It is therefore time to stop the bleeding.”
The concerns center on the volumes sold
A point of view shared by Hervé Chefdeville, General Secretary of the association Energie en actions: “Thus, MEPs recognized, as has been stressed on several occasions by the Court of Auditors, that Arenh’s price was inadequate and did not reflect the cost of EDF’s nuclear production.”, Notes but regrets that the law will not come into force before 01.01ah January 2023.
Pricing aside, concerns center on volumes sold. In this context, the Energy-Climate Law passed in September 2019 provided that the government could increase the annual cap of the Arenh to 150 TWh by decree. On the occasion of the vote on Friday 22 July, “MPs accepted the idea of lowering the legal cap on Arenh volume from 150 to 120 TWh”, detailed Alexandre Grillat. In other words, the government will hardly be able to exceed 120 TWh in its requests. “But the cost of that volume of 120 remains catastrophic for EDF, which has to pull a large chunk of that volume from the markets. » In his opinion, this upper limit should have been lowered to at least 100 to 80 TWh.
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