Electricity bills: UFC-Que Choisir is concerned with a sharp increase in 2026
UFC-Que Choosing alert on the system that will succeed the Arenh-Illustration Image © Pexels
The reform of the electricity market in France arouses strong concerns, especially on the side of the association UFC-Que Choisir. From January 1ᵉʳ 2026, a new method of calculating prices will come into force, ending the current ARENH system (regulated access to historic nuclear electricity). The association denounces a system which would favor EDF to the detriment of consumers, by exposing them more to the fluctuations of the wholesale markets, known for their volatility.
UFC-Que Choisir goes up to the niche on the price of electricity for consumers
After a study Led by the UFC-Que Choosing Association, the nuclear reform will have a direct impact on the consumer budget, with an average increase in the electricity bill estimated at 19 %. Currently, the system of regulated access to historic nuclear electricity (ARENH) allows alternative suppliers to buy part of the electricity produced by EDF at a regulated rate, which reflects the production costs of the French nuclear fleet.
The reform in the UFC-Que Choisir viewfinder will replace the ARENH with a new system where prices will be more influenced by the prices of the wholesale electricity markets. The latter are renowned for their volatility and their often high levels. The association criticizes the fact that the reform exposes consumers more to high prices on the wholesale market, while EDF would benefit from better profitability on its production.
This explosion of electricity prices therefore results from an assumed political choice: to make the French pay for their electricity at a high price, as if it was necessary to fully buy it in the international markets, even though it is produced in France at much lower costs.
According to UFC-Que Choisir, this increase could represent up to € 250 per year for certain homes, depending on their consumption.
Suppliers contest the estimates of UFC-Que Choisir
According to the energy regulation commission, a redistribution to consumers of EDF profits from the production of the nuclear fleet is planned, in the event of high prices on the wholesale market. The UFC-Que Choisir deplores that this reversal to households represents only a small part of their invoice. The association adds that the taxation of EDF's profits will remain insufficient to compensate for the outbreak of prices. A point of view that the Ministry of Energy does not share, which ensures that “recent calculations make a certain stability appear”.
The calculations led by the UFC-Que Choisir did not fail to react, in particular with electricity suppliers. The latter told Franceinfo that the association's estimates are “fanciful”. According to them, the new system will rather protect consumers, where the ARENH showed its limits in the face of the outbreak of prices in 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine.
