The end of the regulated gas sales tariff (TRVg) for 2.8 million households on 30 June 2023

In the current inflationary climate, regulated gas prices are the most protective formula for consumers. Where they have disappeared in Europe, prices have soared!
Defenders of the liberalisation of the energy sector have always seen regulated tariffs as an obstacle to the creation of a competitive market, and as contrary to European law. Yet they are still the only bulwark protecting consumers from fluctuating market prices.
The introduction of a reference price determined by the Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE), which would serve as the basis for the continuation of the tariff shield, clearly does not offer the same legal guarantees as the regulated tariffs set by the public authorities.
In their barometer, the Observatoire national de la précarité énergétique (ONPE) points out that in 2022, 69% of households surveyed said that they had turned down the heating at home to avoid high bills, 9 points more than in 2021. 27% of households surveyed (compared with 25% in 2021 and 18% in 2020) say they have had difficulty paying certain energy bills. Once again this year, 18-34 year-olds are the hardest hit, with 51% of them reporting difficulties.
Interventions by energy suppliers to suspend or reduce power as a result of unpaid bills increased in 2021 compared with 2019 (+17% suspensions and +63% power reductions).
For our NGO, the disappearance of the TRVg will have the effect of entrenching fuel poverty over the long term by preventing households who are already in it from getting out and by pushing new ones into it. This is a very bad signal from the government in the fight against fuel poverty and consumer protection.