French energy bill affordability crisis, Digi Mart USA News: If you are having serious difficulty paying your energy bills, you are far from alone. According to the latest annual barometer published by the French energy ombudsman (médiateur de l’énergie), 34% of respondents had difficulty paying their electricity or gas consumption over the past 12 months in France.
According to figures shared by France Info, that rate rises to 55% among people under 35 and to 77% among shopkeepers. Three out of four surveyed households chose to lower their home heating to try to reduce the bill, while half of households felt cold in their homes for at least one day.
Overall, sector experts estimate that 12 million households are in energy poverty in the country, and the rise in gas prices, which has been confirmed for several months, is not expected to help. Consumers favor electric options, particularly heat pumps, which are considered less energy-intensive.
However, heat pumps carry a cost that slows the necessary transition. The government recently announced a plan to help 55,000 French people adopt this type of solution, but it remains far below what is needed.
These difficulties come against a delicate backdrop, with inflation returning in France. According to figures published by Insee, consumer prices rose 3.4% over one year in October.
The main reason for this jump is energy prices, which surged 24.1% that month, driven by sharp increases in diesel and gasoline.
Gas prices show the same trend, and electricity prices rose as well, though to a lesser extent. Food inflation also increased, by 1.2%, showing that the higher cost of energy has consequences across all other sectors of activity.
