The Energy Regulatory Commission launches a procedure against an electricity supplier because of… – 20 Minutes

In these times of high inflation, energy prices are under scrutiny. The Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has launched a procedure against an alternative energy supplier, unnamed, because of suspicions of resale at high prices of nuclear electricity purchased cheaply from EDF, a-t -we learned this Friday from the energy policeman in France. “A procedure has been launched for abuse of Arenh (Regulated access to historical nuclear electricity)”, that is to say the mechanism by which the Suppliers buy cheap nuclear electricity from EDF, the commission said, without disclosing the name of the target company. The operator Ohm Energie, quoted by Le Parisien, indicated for its part that it had “received no notification from the CRE”. Tariffs “lower or equivalent to those of its competitors” The independent authority chaired by the former minister Emmanuelle Wargon suspects the operator of having bought nuclear electricity from the Arenh and resold it on the markets at a higher price. Facts disputed by the operator, who claims to have “never sold the slightest kWh of the Arenh on the markets”, according to its president François Joubert, a former EDF engineer. “His prices after increase remain lower or equivalent to those of its competitors and (…) it intends to maintain them all winter without an additional increase”, the company further argued. “Catastrophic unavailability of nuclear power” an obligation of neutrality (…) The responsibility for the crisis is not to be found among the alternatives but more in a catastrophic unavailability of nuclear power”, said François Joubert. The investigations of the CRE could lead to a referral to the Regulation Committee Disputes and Sanctions (CORDIS), which may decide on possible sanctions. At the end of August, CRE announced that it was strengthening its market surveillance, calling on suppliers “to adopt responsible behavior”, in the midst of soaring wholesale prices.