After a price increase of 15% in February, households in France faced another blow to their budgets earlier this month when electricity prices rose by a further 10%.

According to the government the increase will mean an extra €160 a year on bills for an average household with electric central heating.

The increase would have been substantially higher were it not for the price shield (bouclier tarifaire) on the regulated tariff imposed by the government since 2021, reducing average potential bills by 43%, although down to 37% with the latest price hike. Nevertheless, the government have stated that the price shield will remain in place until 2025, albeit at lower levels of support. To date the cost to the public purse of the support has been a thumping €110b.

The French energy regulator (Commission de régulation de l’énergie - CRE) had stated that due to inflation prices in August should be increased by 74%, advice that was rejected by the government.

Despite the increase, prices in France remain low compared to most of its European neighbours, as can be seen in the graphic below.

According to a recent government report, electricity prices are 17% lower than the average in the European Union. Prices in France are around half of those in the UK.

The only major country in Europe with lower prices is Spain, where the government have placed a cap on gas prices, which establishes the price of electricity.

Between 2007 and 2021, electricity prices in France increased by 69%. Until the energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine, annual price increases had been relatively modest. They would potentially have been lower still had not around one-third of the nuclear power plants been out of commission.

Price revisions normally occur twice a year, in February and August.

You can read more about electricity tariffs in our recently updated Guide to Electricity Services in France.