EDF is demanding 8.34 billion euros from the state to compensate for the shortfall in its electricity sales
Last stand for Jean-Bernard Lévy. While the state embarked on the nationalization of Electricity of France (EDF) in July and set about expediting the succession of its current boss, the latter wasn’t giving up. Very angry with the state, which imposed tariff protection against the price increase, he decided to take the group’s main shareholder (84%) to court. “EDF submitted today [mardi 9 août] a contentious appeal to the Council of State and a claim for damages valued at €8.34 billion to date, by the State,” the group said in a statement. He is calling for the cancellation of the increase in nuclear power that the state imposed on him at the beginning of 2022, which is sold at low prices to his competitors, alternative suppliers.
To stem the rise in regulated electricity prices to 4% this year, EDF has been forced to increase the annual quota, which it sells at a discount to its competitors, by 20% to 120 terawatt hours (TWh) from 100 TWh previously while electricity prices rose the wholesale markets exploded. This sale, at bargain prices, was made as part of the regulated access to historic core stream (Arenh), a mechanism imposed on the group in 2011 to provide a form of competition in a market dominated by EDF, given the Brussels covenants.
“Plunder”
Jean-Bernard Lévy had already submitted a gracious appeal in May to ask the state to reverse this measure. “Both the price and the terms of these awards place us at a significant disadvantage”, he then argued. The state, which had two months – until Thursday, August 11 – to respond, has since played a deaf ear. As a result, EDF decided to take legal action, while several unions and shareholders have also taken legal action. “Although belated and in light of the billing, EDF’s approach is fairJudge Fabrice Coudour, Federal Secretary of the FNME-CGT. But we need to go further to put an end to all our evils by taking the power out of the market, putting the public interest first and realizing a real nationalization of the sector. »
Energie en actions, the association that brings together employee shareholders and former employees of the group, welcomed the complaint filed on Tuesday, August 9, but regretted that this complaint did not assist in support of the complaints filed by employee shareholder representatives seeking termination of the complaint “Plunder” the company. At Bercy we remain very calm. “The state will continue to defend the Arenh rearing system before the State Council, which again recalled in July the public interest attached to this decision.”, the Ministry of Economy assures us. According to the government “Without these measures, particularly the volume of additional arenh, household bills would have increased by 35% including taxes.”
