🚨 Electricity: 3 new support systems for businesses and communities

In a context of soaring energy prices, the government presented new mechanisms for businesses and communities on Thursday, October 27, the government presented new mechanisms.

At a press conference in Matignon, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Territorial Cohesion Christophe Béchu as well as the Minister of Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher, announced 3 new devices to contain energy prices for small businesses and communities:

An “electricity shock absorber”

The electrical shock absorber will aim to take care of part of the electricity bill for:

• SMEs that do not benefit from the tariff shield;
• SMEs;
• Associations (with more than 10 employees);
• Territorial authorities;
• Public institutions (hospitals, universities, etc.)

Bruno Le Maire specified that this measure will concern contracts for the year 2023, including those already signed. He added that this shock absorber should allow ” to reduce the electricity bill of VSEs and SMEs by an average of 120 euros per MWh ”.

This mechanism will be in place for 1 year and effective as of January 1, 2023.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher also specifies that he will be deducted from the company's electricity bill and will be triggered only when the price of an electron will be between €325 and €800.

Simplification and expansion of targeted aid, which is already in force for businesses

The second mechanism concerns the simplification and amplification of targeted aid already in force for larger businesses.

For SMEs and large companies, eligibility for aid was simplified (considered too complex and had therefore been little used). In detail:

• A doubling of the aid ceiling: they can go up to 100 or 150 million euros. A company will now be able to receive aid as soon as its bill increases by 50%, compared to a current doubling;
• The EBITDA loss criterion is removed and replaced by a decrease in EBITDA;
• The aid will also cover heat and cold expenses, in addition to electricity and gas expenses.

The extension and expansion of the safety net for the year 2023

With regard to communities, the government will present an amendment to the finance bill providing for “the extension and expansion of the safety net for the year 2023”.

12 billion euros will be spent on it in order to relieve the budgets of businesses and local authorities, which are very heavily impacted by the explosion in energy costs.

The Minister of the Economy specified that this envelope would be “fully funded”, in particular:

• 7 billion euros will come from contributions made to energy companies for superprofits;
• 3 billion euros come from an envelope already provided for existing aid that is little used;
• 1.5 billion euros budgeted by the State for the safety net for local authorities.