This is a major change for millions of households, which aims to adapt to the new energy landscape. The full hour system (HP)/ off -peak hours (HC) for electricity prices will be revised from this fall, confirmed the energy regulation commission (CRE), Thursday, February 6. Today, 40 % of households have an HP/HC option, or 13.5 million.
What is the HP/HC device?
Started in the 1960s, it was generalized to residential customers and SMEs, in the 1980s, with the start of the first nuclear power plants. The objective was then to spread the consumption of electricity as much as possible, insofar as the reactors operate all the time, in order to smooth demand peaks and avoid having too much voltages on the network.
With the key to pricing incentives. KWH in off -peak hours is on average 17 % cheaper than the basic price, but 7 % more expensive for full hours.
There are currently 8 hollow hours ago and 16 full hours per day, set by Enedis, the distribution network manager. They are the same all year round, but they can vary from one municipality to another, and depending on whether the consumer is an individual or a professional, for reasons of local balancing. For the majority of households concerned, or 8.8 million, off -peak hours are only at night. For the others, or 5.7 million households, off -peak hours are already spread over two periods, at night and during the day.
What will change?
The development of renewable energies, in particular photovoltaics, implies reviewing time slots, moving the off-peak hours, when there is the most sun and therefore when the panels produce as much as possible, that is to say between 11:00 a.m. and 5 p.m. and April 1 to October 31.
But all cases, holders of the HP/HC option will benefit in the month of five consecutive hours of off -peak hours overnight.
That “Will allow more French to have off-peak hours during the day, especially summer on the beach 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This gives more flexibility and it is consistent with new lifestyles, especially the telework “explains Emmanuelle Wargon, the president of CRE.
By pushing consumption at off -peak hours, the regulator also intends to limit the phenomenon of negative prices that upsets the system. At certain times of the day, electricity is sold below zero, because there are too many offers compared to demand, to the point that certain renewable operators must be disconnected from the network. In 2024, there were negative prices for 359 hours, or 4 % of the time. Twice more than in 2023, according to RTE.
How will the new device set up?
The subject is sensitive and the modifications will be made very gradually, from November 1, 2025 and until the end of 2027. Not everyone will be housed in the same brand, depending on their location. The card is not yet known, but only 11 million households with the HP/HC option, will see a change, estimates CRE.
For 3.5 million households, nothing will move. These include those whose off -peak hours are only at night and those whose off -peak hours are already between 01:00 and 07:00 a.m. and between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
« The majority of customers will now have off-peak hours in the afternoon all year round, or at least summer. For customers who will see their hollow hours amended, the new hollow hours will include at least 2 hours off the afternoon (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in summer (from April 1 to October 31) », Note the regulator, which presented several standard cases.
For example, for a consumer whose off-peak hours are today between 02 h 00-08 h 00 and 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., they will pass between 01:30 a.m. and 07:00 a.m. and between 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. , throughout the year. For other customers, the modification will be different depending on the season. This is the case of those whose off -peak hours are from 1:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in summer, they will go from 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. But in winter, they will only be from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
How will the bill evolve?
Consumers must first adapt to this new price calendar. “” In order for the system to be interesting, you have to consume at least 30 % of its electricity during off -peak hours. This mainly concerns households whose heating and hot water tank are electric », Esides Aurian de Maupéou, the co -founder of the Selectra comparator. According to him, the overhaul of the system nevertheless remains “Good news for household bills and for the environment”.
Foyers with air conditioning should be winners. She will be able to operate in the middle of the day with a cheaper kilowatt hour price. Ditto for the owners of electric cars, provided, however, that the off -peak hours offered to recharge them agree. Certainly, households will always be able to change the programming of their dishwasher or their washing machine, but the savings are modest. “” We earn 8 cents by washing in off -peak hours rather than in full hours, with the current device », Note the leader of Selectra.
It remains to be seen now, if suppliers will offer new attractive offers. Some have started, like Ohm Energie, with ” SOLAR ORSED HOURS »That cost 3 cents less than classic off -peak hours and 10 cents less than full hours. Others such as the beautiful Energy and Enercoop have already embarked on seasonal offers. Intense market competition should speed up the movement.
(tagstotranslate) Natural resources and energy