While an initial 15% increase was already recorded last February, electricity prices will increase by another 10% on August 1st, in one week. With this increase, French households will be impacted by an average of €150 per year. How can we reduce this additional cost? Faced with this increase, which adds to general inflationary pressures, how can French households cope with this situation? The Price Shield: A False Good IdeaIn France, the price of electricity is set by the government on the proposal of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), and is revised twice a year, in February and August. This is why we already had a 15% increase in the price of electricity in February, and why a new 10% increase will take place on August 1st. These dates are not coincidental. Good news: this should be the last increase… this year. This increase has three main causes: an aging nuclear fleet, which requires billions of dollars in maintenancea Europe that wants to standardize prices. Given that France had one of the cheapest prices thanks to nuclear power, it was obviously necessary to increase it
a war in Ukraine, which amplifies the energy crisis following the decision to stop importing Russian gas.
In itself, this increase is not a surprise: I had already mentioned it in
my book on home automation, published in 2016, explaining how home automation can optimize electricity consumption.
- However, to avoid an explosion in electricity prices and support the purchasing power of individuals, the government put in place in 2021 what is called the “tariff shield”. This system aimed to limit the increase in the price of electricity to a maximum of 15%. In February he played his role perfectly: we had an increase of 15% “only”, while professionals suffered a 100% increase. This explains the many bakers who have closed their shops, for example, because the cost of electricity is jeopardizing their business.
- This price shield had a good intention: to protect the purchasing power of individuals. But it was only stepping back to jump better:
- on the one hand the price of electricity will not fall, we must realize this
on the other hand by selling electricity at a loss, EDF is in deficit of several billions, so much so that the State had to take over the company which is once again public The government estimates the cut of the tariff shield at 110 billion euros between 2021 and 2023.In short, the increase that has been stifled must be passed on at some point. And the government is realizing this now: not only must it carry out a new increase of 10% in August, but it is planned to “gradually” remove this tariff shield by the end of 2024. In other words, other increases await us again next year. Can you imagine your electricity bill doubling in a year? Unfortunately, many households will not be able to afford it. So how to deal with this?
Solar power, the easy and quick solution?
If you follow the blog, you must have seen several
- solar station tests
- . These are photovoltaic panels, which are plugged directly into an electrical outlet.
A solar panel placed on the ground, plugged into an outlet. 5 minutes, and your bill is instantly reduced!
Their electricity production is instantly injected into the home's circuit to power your appliances. This free electricity doesn't pass through the electric meter, and is therefore not billed. Anyone can install it in 5 minutes, and it can be moved if necessary. Personally, I love this concept, and I've had several stations installed in my home for two years. The savings are clear, for a reasonable investment that requires no work or permits.
Currently, one of the major players in the field,
Sunology , is offering a 7% discount on its Play station until the end of summer, thanks to our codeSUNPLAY_MAISON&DOM
If you want to cushion the increase in electricity prices, now is the time to get one! While it used to take 10 years to amortize such equipment, the payback period has now dropped to between 4 and 7 years following the electricity price increases, and could well drop to only 3 years next year. In the medium to long term, households equipped with this type of solar station will clearly benefit!
Habits to Optimize While installing solar panels can help considerably, there are many small things you can optimize to reduce your energy consumption. We've already covered many topics on this topic, which I invite you to check out:What's the result? By combining solar stations and eco-friendly practices, it's possible to significantly reduce your electricity bill. Here's an example for my personal situation, comparing 2022 and 2023: It's simple: despite the February rate increase, EDF forced me to reduce my monthly payment because they already owed me a lot of money: Of course, in my case, I don't have electric heating. But everything else is electric. We're a family of five, with equipment that still consumes electricity: hot water tank, computers/servers, large appliances, portable air conditioners, swimming pool, spa, etc. In just one year, we've learned how to optimize their use, particularly by turning them on during our solar stations' peak production, manually when we're home, or using programmed outlets, which activate at the right time to fully exploit solar production. And the results are there!In short, don't wait for the next bill to take action; you need to do it now!
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