Every January 1st, its new measures. This year, it is at the level of natural gas that things are likely to change. For 2024, one of the taxes paid by natural gas suppliers, the excise, will almost double, materializing the exit from the tariff shield announced by the government, according to a decree published on Saturday in the Official Journal. But the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, indicated in September that this tax increase would be “without impact on the consumer”.
The normal excise rate on natural gas for fuel use, which has replaced the internal consumption tax on natural gas since 2022, will increase to 16.37 euros per megawatt hour from January 1, compared to 8.45 euros currently. , according to the decree. This price corresponds to the ceiling authorized by the 2024 finance law, published the same day in the Official Journal.
More changes to come
For several months, the executive has been organizing the gradual exit from the tariff shield, deployed since the end of 2021 to moderate the impact on consumers of the surge in gas and electricity prices. Since July 1, there are no longer regulated gas sales tariffs (TRVG), which allowed the government to directly limit price increases. Instead, a “benchmark” price from the Energy Regulatory Commission, updated every month, must serve as a guide, based on market prices.
Another increase for gas is also looming, this time with a consequence on the price paid by subscribers: the gas distribution rate, which accounts for around a quarter of the final bill, will increase on July 1, 2024; the Energy Regulatory Commission must determine by how much, by early January.
Concerning electricity, no new tax increase has been published in the Official Journal. The government must raise the regulated tariff in February but has committed to ensuring that the increase is less than 10% compared to the August 2023 level.