After Emmanuel Macron imposed price caps, EDF customers in Britain pay almost two-and-a-half times more than their counterparts in France.
Customers of EDF in Britain have had their bills reduced to £1,971 from Ofgem, while French customers with regulated tariffs will be charged around €950 (£803).
According to the French president, EDF can only raise bills by 4% this fiscal year in order to protect households from rising energy costs. Customers will see an increase of €38, €988 per year. Customers in Britain are expecting bills to increase by 80pc to approximately £3,582 in October.
According to a new grim forecast, customers will face more pain next year because their annual energy bills will rise to more than £5,000 in April.
According to energy consultancy Auxilione, Ofgem may need to limit the price cap to £5,038 per annum for the average home in the face of rising gas prices.
Boris Johnson led Thursday’s talks with representatives from the energy sector to discuss ways that they can provide relief for homeowners.
While the Prime Minister warned sector bosses about the dangers of high energy prices, no new policy measures emerged from the discussions. To help households with high bills, the Government is open to imposing a windfall income tax on electricity generators.
Experts believe the January cap could be as high as £4,467. This is more concerning for families who use winter energy the most. This scenario would mean that the average household would have to pay £571 per month for energy.
Energy consultancy Auxilione stated that there is little that can be done to bring down prices directly.
Analysts from the company wrote that it seemed that people don’t appreciate how difficult this task is and that both energy companies and the government have limited control over it in such a highly influenced market.
France’s government forced EDF to sell electricity from its fleet of failing nuclear reactors to other suppliers. This was to ensure that it could maintain low prices for consumers. Macron also plans to nationalize EDF in order to have greater control over its plans for consumer prices.
France is willing to pay €10bn for the 16pc EDF stake it doesn’t already own.
EDF is currently suing the government for €8.3bn (£7bn), over losses incurred due to price controls.
Stephen Thomas, an emeritus professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich said that the government-owned EDF and promised to buy the rest. So I suppose they can do whatever they want, though they will have to pay for it.
EDF spokesperson said that although the company couldn’t confirm the exact annual bill for customers under its regulated tariff, it could say that price increases would be below €38 each year.
She stated that it would change depending on each individual. It will depend on the client’s house size, family size, and other factors. Prices in the UK are not the same.
EDF was rocked by the recent shutdown of large numbers of its nuclear reactors.
To fix the corroded equipment, the company shut down approximately half its nuclear fleet and repeatedly reduced its forecasts for power output.
Professor Thomas stated that EDF would “scour the continent for power” during winter if its power plants fail to reopen.
He stated that if they have a large number of their reactors out of service in winter, they can import gas-fired power from any source.
It will be made using gas, so it will be extremely expensive. They will start searching the continent for power when it becomes winter.
