Gas and electricity: towards setting prices according to income? – CNEWS

More expensive gas for the wealthiest households? According to the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, this hypothesis is on the table. The government is currently considering ways to make the French bear the cost of the increase in gas and electricity prices. For the moment, consumers are not affected by this increase: the State has deployed a “tariff shield” freezing prices at their October 2021 level. This measure is costly, so it will end in 2023. From this date, the State will continue to provide financial assistance, but targeting the most modest households. “It will be necessary, from January 1, 2023, that on electricity and gas, we support more those who need it. But for us to be able to do that, there must also be increases for those who can afford it. This means that we will take into account the level of income of people, ”said Bruno Le Maire this Monday, July 11. Invoices could therefore be adapted according to the income level of consumers. “We are not going to expose the most modest French people to reckless increases in the price of energy”, assured Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on July 10. It remains to define the terms of this aid. Thanks to the tariff shield, Engie’s regulated gas tariffs are blocked. Without this measure, they would have been 54% higher excluding tax (48.7% including tax) in June 2022 compared to October 2021. Energy prices fell during the health crisis. They increased again at the beginning of 2021, due to the winter and the reduction in European production. After the deployment of the tariff shield, the war in Ukraine and the uncertainties linked to Russian gas contributed to further inflate prices.