The main mission of the energy regulator is to regulate electricity and gas networks and infrastructure, to ensure the proper functioning of the electricity and gas markets and to manage the main mechanisms for supporting renewable energy. These responsibilities give the regulator a comprehensive and expert view of the sector and give it a prominent position. Based on its values ​​of openness, transparency and impartiality, the French energy regulator CRE acts as a supervisory authority in the energy sector. One of its key tasks is to inform the public debate.

Often faced with inaccurate data and hasty statements appearing in the public domain, the French regulator CRE has decided to separate fact from fabrication by responding to ten statements that have been circulated in recent weeks. Some of them are true, others are false. The energy sector is undoubtedly complex, but that is precisely why more attention and time are needed for explanations so that citizens can understand its challenges.

This document is expected to be supplemented in the coming months depending on current events and statements that need to be clarified or specified.

List with affirmations:

• Have electricity bills doubled in the last 10 years? FALSE

The average electricity bill increased significantly between 2015 and 2025, but did not double. If we take into account the regulated sales tariff (TRVE), which is the most common electricity contract in France among household customers (as of December 31, 2024, there were 20.2 million household customers with TRVE, or 58% of household customers), prices increased by 20% (in constant prices, i.e. excluding inflation) over the period.

• Are renewable energy sources responsible for rising bills? FALSE

Government support for renewable energy in France is not yet directly reflected in legislation. The increase in electricity bills of around 20% over the last ten years (not taking inflation into account) is due to a combination of factors. Electricity bills consist of three main components:

• • Electricity supply – around 40%

  • Grid charges – around 29%

  • Taxes – around 31%

This distribution changes over time, with the share of the electricity component increasing significantly during the 2022–2023 crisis. It should be noted that the participation of renewable energy sources in wholesale markets often leads to lower prices there, due to their low marginal costs.

• Will the grid tariff (TURPE) double? FALSE

The price for using the grid is invoiced to customers, including households, through the tariff for access to the public electricity network (TURPE). This tariff is set by the CRE every four years. In 2025, the CRE adopted TURPE 7, which will be in force for the period 2025–2028. After the increase in 2025, the tariff will be adjusted annually at a rate close to inflation, in order to cover the increasing investments of the network operators.

According to the CRE forecasts, the tariff for using the network (TURPE) will develop in a controlled manner in the coming years. The long-term scenarios , which include the investments announced by the operators, foresee an increase in the TURPE for household consumers at the rate of inflation + 1% per year until 2040.

• Is France planning to invest 300 billion euros in developing renewable energy sources? FALSE

Regarding electricity networks, RTE (the transmission operator) has announced investments of approximately €100 billion and Enedis (the distribution operator) around €90 billion by 2040. The majority of these funds are intended for the maintenance and renovation of existing networks, the connection of consumers and industrial zones for decarbonization, as well as for adaptation to climate change.

regarding the connection of RES capacities:

• • According to network operators, approximately €18 billion is planned for onshore renewables, with part of these costs being borne by the producers themselves;

  • By 2040, around €37 billion has been committed to connecting offshore wind power to the transmission grid, as France opted for all funding to be channeled through the TURPE scheme.

It is important to emphasize that these are estimates  will change depending on the actual pace of development of renewable energy and the electrification process of the economy. To these connection costs are added investments to reinforce the grid, which are partly linked to the development of RES.

As for public support for renewable energy, the new commitments needed to achieve the targets are estimated by the CRE at approximately €50 billion by 2060.

The total costs for the grids and for public support for renewable electricity are therefore well below the €300 billion figure. Furthermore, these investments will be spread over several decades.

• Does the development of renewable energy sources necessarily require an increase in the state budget? PARTLY TRUE 

Currently, the development of renewable energy sources is effectively supported by the State, as many projects qualify for public support. For 2025, the CRE estimates public support for renewable energy sources at €6.9 billion. The cost of this support depends mainly on two factors: the level of the guaranteed preferential tariff and the level of market prices. In this way, the most competitive sectors generate revenue for the State when market prices are high. This was the case during the 2022-2023 crisis: in these two years, electrical renewable energy sources contributed €5.5 billion in revenue to the State budget. In addition, there are other types of contracts that do not rely on public support. These include PPAs (power purchase agreements), contracts between a producer and a buyer for a certain period. The Energy Regulatory Commission recently published its first observatory on these contracts, in which it made a series of recommendations to increase their share. Therefore, it is true that the development of renewable energy sources is supported by the state budget, and to a significant extent when market prices are low, but it is false to claim that there are no other ways for their development.

• Will public support for renewable energy sources increase in 2025? TRUE

The French regulator CRE forecasts €6.9 billion in renewable energy support to be compensated in 2025. Compared to the levels observed before the wholesale energy price crisis, this figure is slightly higher (€6.4 billion in 2020), but remains relatively stable. This return to comparable tariff levels for 2025 compared to 2020 is explained by: a slight decrease in unit tariffs (from €89.74/MWh to €85.62/MWh) – unit tariffs represent the average price of a support contract; offset by an overall increase in the supported volume (from 72 TWh to 81 TWh). It is important to note that the level of unit tariffs includes contracts for photovoltaic systems before the 2010 moratorium, whose purchase price is particularly high (over €500/MWh). This contributes to the observed fees of nearly €2 billion for 2025. Most of the contracted capacity under these contracts expires before 2033, with the decline starting in 2029. The regulator recalls that between 2021 and 2024, there were significant variations in fees related to support for renewable electricity and cogeneration with natural gas, mainly due to very sharp changes in wholesale electricity and gas prices. Renewable electricity thus brought €5.5 billion in revenue to the state budget for the years 2022 and 2023. From 2024, a return to pre-crisis dynamics was observed, which continues in 2025.

• The lower the wholesale electricity market prices, the more renewable energy sources cost the government? TRUE

Public energy service charges linked to renewable energy support compensate for the difference between the state-guaranteed tariffs (through the purchase obligation or the additional remuneration) and the wholesale prices. Therefore, when wholesale prices are low, the compensation from the state budget is higher. Conversely, when wholesale prices are high, as in 2022 and 2023, the compensation from the state budget decreases and may even be in the opposite direction. Renewable electricity sources thus contributed to the state budget and acted as a buffer during the wholesale energy price crisis. They contributed €5.5 billion in revenue to the state budget for the years 2022 and 2023. Outside of crisis periods, the most competitive sectors generate revenue for the state when prices are high. It should be noted that although low market prices automatically increase the costs that must be compensated, they remain good news for the French population, as they contribute to reducing the average electricity bill (regulated electricity sales prices have fallen by 15% since February 1).

• France produces more electricity than it consumes? TRUE

By 2024, the balance between demand and supply in France had improved significantly. Generation reached 539 TWh, exceeding the average for the years 2014-2019 (before the crisis), with 362 TWh of nuclear energy, 75 TWh of hydroelectric energy and 72 TWh of wind and photovoltaic energy. This significant generation allowed France to export 89 TWh of electricity to its neighbors, generating around 5 billion euros in revenue for the national trade balance. So it actually produces more than it consumes.

• As France produces more electricity, is the development of renewable energy sources unnecessary? FALSE

The positive balance of net export observed in 2024 (89 TWh) is the result of periods of exports (101 TWh exports) but also of imports (12 TWh imports). In fact, on an annual basis, both generation and demand are not constant. It is essential, according to the CRE, for the country to cope with peak periods, when consumption is well above average and reaches its peak. Furthermore, no one can guarantee that the situation in 2024 will be repeated in the same way every year, as seen in the crisis of 2022, during which France imported more electricity (73 TWh) than it exported (55 TWh), due to lower production linked to the crisis in the nuclear fleet, combined with lower hydroelectric production due to insufficient rainfall. Above all, electricity demand is expected to increase in the coming years, as a result of the growing electrification of consumption and the economy, essential for the phasing out of fossil fuels and the reduction of CO2 emissions.

• Was Spain’s power outage caused by a surplus of solar energy that the grid couldn’t absorb? FALSE

Source: CRE