Energy crisis: only one in two companies has mobilized state aid

To combat the consequences of the increase in electricity prices on the bills of small and medium-sized businesses, the State and energy suppliers have set up three aid schemes for them, to the period from January 1 to December 31, 2023.

They can be mobilized on simple request made to energy suppliers, request accompanied by a sworn statement before March 31, 2023. The application of these devices results in a direct deduction on the invoices.

Three assistive devices

The first of these aids is a tariff shield intended for VSEs (companies with less than 10 full-time equivalents and less than 2 million euros in turnover) whose meter has a power that does not exceed 36 kilovoltamperes ( kVA). This shield has limited the rise in energy prices to 15% since February 1, 2023.

The second is a price guarantee which assures all VSEs that they will not pay more than 280 euros per megawatt hour on average over the year 2023 if they have renewed their electricity supply contract in 2022.

Finally, VSEs whose meter power exceeds 36 kVA and SMEs (companies with fewer than 250 employees and less than 50 million euros in turnover or less than 43 million euros in balance sheet) can benefit from an “electricity buffer” which covers up to 20% of the increase in the electricity bill. For VSEs, this shock absorber can be combined with the price guarantee.

This aid is retroactive with an effective date of January 1, 2023.