Electricity: This line item on the bill will cost all French people 4 times more, and they will soon have to pay up.

The amount of the electricity bill will soon change and few are likely to notice.

It's a nasty surprise that's coming to all French people at the end of summer. While electricity bills had been dropping, a change will soon be implemented, forcing households to dig deeper into their pockets. This hasn't (yet?) been announced with much fanfare. However, there will be a slight difference in the final bill, starting with the bill at the end of August.

When EDF, Engie, or any other electricity supplier sends a bill, it includes several lines detailing the total amount. While most customers are only interested in what they actually have to pay the energy company, it can sometimes be interesting to look at the details. This is what you'll need to do in a few weeks to understand what's going to change.

For each monthly payment, the invoice shows the subscription amount, usage, and various taxes. Everything is listed without VAT (price excluding VAT) in one column, then with VAT (price including VAT) in another. Among all these elements, it's the subscription price that will change starting August ^1st and will therefore be billed at the end of that month or on your next due date, depending on your payment method.

Currently, the VAT rate on subscriptions is 5.5%. However, European regulations now require that the standard VAT rate apply, rather than the reduced rate. As a result, the VAT rate applied to subscriptions will now be 20%, almost quadrupling. This means that each customer will therefore pay a few euros more per year.

For example, for an Engie customer who has subscribed to the "Elec Référence 2 ans" offer with 6kVA of power, their subscription is currently €30.36 including VAT per year. With the change in VAT rate, this will increase to €34.54. To calculate this increase more precisely, read the "Subscription" line in the "Electricity" section of your bill, take the amount excluding VAT per month and multiply it by 1.2. This will give you the exact future amount of your subscription.

With this decision, more money will flow into the state coffers. But there's no guarantee that basic prices (excluding tax) won't also increase in the coming months. As for the price per kWh, will it also increase or decrease again? The answer won't be known for several weeks.