EDF charges (too much)

[L Austin France]

At the end of last year (2022) EDF refunded us approx. 30% of the monthly prelevements we'd paid.
This year they've upped the same 2022 prelevement by 60%.
Unless 'leccy costs are going to rise enormously it seems that once again we're gonna be lending the Government via EDF some of our hard earned dosh.

[Lori]

You don't have to accept their payment plan. At least we don't. They suggested a ridiculous higher monthly payment and I simply ignored it. I watch like a hawk every single day of our EDF usage. I can just about tell you the electrical cost per day of every single item in our house.

[L Austin France]

You don't have to accept their payment plan. At least we don't. They suggested a ridiculous higher monthly payment and I simply ignored it. I watch like a hawk every single day of our EDF usage. I can just about tell you the electrical cost per day of every single item in our house.

I never check any of these things & didn't realise they'd upped the charges by so much until Mme LAF just told me how much they're taking out of our bank each month.
If my maths is any good, EDF are anticipating charging us 130% more than last year, but there again they could just be looking for an interest free loan.

[RobertArthur]

One of the promises by the EDF, when introducing the smartmeter LINKY around 2010, was: you are gong to pay for your actual power consumption on a monthly basis, never pay a euro cent too much. We don't have to send Mr. Meterman once a year, we will be able to see what you do, day and night. Less power also because it will be easier for the dear client to monitor his or her consumption. Yes, thank you for these wise words, turning off a switch means that I'm going to lower my power consumption, didn't know that. Nevertheless old EDF habits never seem to die.

And even in the dark ages before the introduction of LINKY the owners of a maison secondaire, many of them absent in winter and not using any tiny electron, knew that every year the EDF predictions followed a standard pattern: a lot of electrons are going to flow in these cold months, no exceptions possible. The accumulated statistical data of all French housholds don't lie. Would you like to argue with these hard facts?

[Hotrodder]

No need to argue.
No need to pay their suggested monthly amount.
They send me a facture every two months based on the Linky reading and I manually pay it. Seemples.

[L Austin France]

I realise I can alter the too high prelevements which up to now haven't really bothered me.
Thing is that now I'm wondering which hat EDF pulled their latest ridiculous guestimate from.
I thought, as RA explained, that the 'wonderfull' Linky was supposed to be the panacea for all past billing problems whilst saving EDF , & hopefully the consumers, some money.
Seems to me that nothing has changed & all these promises of accurate monthly bills were just a confidence trick to give EDF & hence the State more control over our daily lives whilst quietly allowing them to raid our banks for free loans.

[MAD87]

Fact: EDF waaste enormous amounts of our money and alwways have. We used to translate their annual accounts and report, and Cour des comptes criticism of their practices, inefficiency, mismanagement, etc. Half a billion of their income was allocated to le Comité d'entreprise (works council), which threw customers' money around like there was no tomorrrow, and itself went bust. Nothing changes - chairmen are appointed from chums of ministers who all went to ENA or some other grande école.
We're with GDF, who seems to be no better.

[RobertArthur]

@ Austin France: in September this year there was already a price increase of 10%. On 14 September 2023, the CRE (Commission de Régulation de l'Énergie) announced a further increase in the price of kWh of between 10% and 20% for 2024. Given current market trends, CRE's calculations predict a sharp rise. However, the minister of economic affairs Bruno Le Maire has ruled out such an increase, which would be closer to 10%. Looks like the EDF is already taking an advance.

@ Mad87: as a French citoyen/citoyenne you are supposed to detest the ancien regime, the noblesse and their castles. Nevertheless still rather popular.
The EDF doesn't charge their (ex) employés too much: they pay only 10 % of the kWh price.

[MAD87]

@ Austin France: in September this year there was already a price increase of 10%. On 14 September 2023, the CRE (Commission de Régulation de l'Énergie) announced a further increase in the price of kWh of between 10% and 20% for 2024. Given current market trends, CRE's calculations predict a sharp rise. However, the minister of economic affairs Bruno Le Maire has ruled out such an increase, which would be closer to 10%. Looks like the EDF is already taking an advance.

@ Mad87: as a French citoyen/citoyenne you are supposed to detest the ancien regime, the noblesse and their castles. Nevertheless still rather popular.
The EDF doesn't charge their (ex) employés too much: they pay only 10 % of the kWh price.

I do so detest it as a citoyenne but, as one of my compatriotes told me years ago, it takes a long time to change things - baby steps - hence the increasing recourse to article 49-3 in legislation.
It isn't just the cheap energy either that's wrong (given that EDF pensioners get such a super-duper pension too) but the horrendously expensive gadgets that the CE buys and lends to employees, ex- or otherwise. not to mention the crumbling châateaux that they can all use for weekend jollies. Time they made all these perks available to those who pay for them!