Minister: no rise in EDF bills - yet

ELECTRICITY bills will not rise before August, despite the Conseil D’Etat’s decision to cancel 2012’s price rise limit, France’s new energy and ecology minister Ségolène Royal has said.

But she confirmed electricity prices will rise 5% from August 1, as planned.

Speaking on BFM TV this morning, Ms Royal said “I will find a common sense solution” to the apparent impasse, but insisted that, “the political will must prevail”.

On Friday, the Conseil D’Etat ruled that the 2% limit on electricity prices set by then-Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s government in 2012 was not enough to cover EDF’s costs.

The ruling meant that 28m households in France were expecting to face a hike in their electricity bills of between €30 and €50.

But Ms Royal said: “My concern is that this government spokesman is respected and that when the French are going to pay their bills this year, in 2014, there is no additional cost compared to what was promised.”

She had already described the Conseil D’Etat’s ruling as “regrettable” when it was announced on Friday.

Photo: BFM TV / screengrab