GDF seeks €290m from gas customers

Gas operator will bill an average of €40 to households after a price freeze last year was thrown out

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GDF Suez is to claim back €290 million from domestic gas customers in France after a prize freeze imposed by former prime minister François Fillon in the last quarter of 2011 was ruled illegal.

It comes after the Conseil d'Etat ruled last month that the prize freeze was not valid and gave the gas operator the green light to bill customers retroactively.

It will amount to an average of about €40 on top of the ordinary gas bill, for the seven million homes in France that use gas heating.

GDF said it would bill this amount in smaller instalments to "reduce the impact on customers' cashflow".

The new French government has pledged to cap gas price rises at 2% - which GDF estimates will cost the group €30 million this year.

The company is still in negotiations with the government about potential changes to the pricing structure, and opening up the "social" tariffs for low-income households to more people.

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