Electricity Supply Services in France

5. Assistance with Your French Electricity Bills

Whether or not you use electricity to heat your home, if you are on a low income you are entitled to a reduced electricity tariff.

The reduced electricity tariff is called Tarif de Première Nécessité (TPN).

This assistance is available to:

Those whose income would also make them eligible for free healthcare in France through the Couverture Maladie Universelle Complémentaire (CMU-C)
Those whose income would entitle them to Aide pour une Complémentaire Santé (ACS), which grants support toward the cost of voluntary 'top-up' health insurance cover.

In addition, the property must be your principal residence.

The maximum annual income threshold to be eligible depends on household size, and is revised each year.

You need to read our above linked pages to get a clearer understanding of how your income is determined.

You level of the power supply must also be no greater than 9Kva, which should be the case for most households.

The assistance available is not great, a fixed sum up to €140pa depending on the size of the household and the size of the electricity supply. In most cases it will be less than this figure!

The concession is renewable annually, subject to a test of resources.

Ordinarily you need take no action to obtain access to the TPN as your eligibility will be confirmed by the tax authority to EDF. However, if this does not happen, then contact your local health authority.

From April 2018 this lower tariff is being replaced by a chèque énergie, ranging from €48 to €227. Those eligible are single persons with a net income no greater than €7,770, up to €16,170 for a couple with two children. There is no need for potential claimants to take any action, as the payments will be made on the basis of tax returns submitted.

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