how to pay less?

The start of the school year in September 2021 is no exception to the rule: many products see prices increase and among them, the natural gasnatural gas whose tariffs are regulated excluded taxesexcluded taxes took +8.7%! A significant increase which is the continuation of the last few months (+5.3% in August, +9.96% in July, +4.4% in June, etc.). However, depending on the contract concluded, this increase is different.

An increase that the Regulatory Commission’spowerpower (CRE) justified by the low level of storage in Europe and the sharply rising costs in Asia…

Regulated prices of natural gas

Evaluate	Increase	Consumption	Work
Basic	+2.7%	less than 1,000 kWh	cooking
B0	+5.5%	from 1,001 to 6,000 kWh	Cooking + DHW
B1	+9%	from 6,001 to 30,000 kWh	Cooking + DHW + heating

The essential offers of the market

For consumers holding a regulated rate contract who wish to reduce their bills, the solution is to stipulate a so-called “market offer” contract. The tariffs are set by the different energy suppliers, historical or alternative. They fall into two categories:

• Fixed price offers: the cost of gas is determined for a durationduration between 1 and 4 years. The kWh rate is not affected by various increases or decreases in the regulated rates. However, the subscription price (and some taxes) may be revised upwards.
• Indexed (or evolutionary) price offers: the cost of natural gas is contractually defined. On the other hand, it is indexed on the regulated tariffs. As a result, the price per kWh varies and supports the rises and falls of the market.

Compare offers to save

Before choosing a natural gas supplier (Engie, EDF, ENI, TotalEnergie, ekWateur, etc.), it is essential to compare the different offers. To achieve this, the independent information site of the National Energy Ombudsman offers a online comparator easy to use. It is based on your geographical area and your consumption in kWh (or the amount of your bill). This tool gives the possibility to choose a supplier based on the percentage of biogasbiogas. Strong point: the ability to compare market offers with the currently subscribed offer.

However, to compare offers, do not rely on the amount of the monthly payment which is an estimate of the annual cost. Take into account the price per kWh and the subscription price. If you change gas supplier, find out if there are any additional costs: fixed costs, termination costs, etc. and on the conditions for price revisions.

Biogas, an ecological approach

To participate in the ongoing energy transition, you can choose a green gas including anaerobic digestionanaerobic digestion from the wastewaste agriculture and family. An approach that saves 2 T/year of CO₂ for each connected household (source Ilek). Commendable, sure, but not everything is green for biogas. In addition to the high production costs, “green gas” is still scarcely introduced into the GRDF network. Finally, if you subscribe to this type of offer, the gas you will consume will not be organic. In fact, once it enters the network, it is impossible to separate it from natural gas.

Quote example

For lodgings located in Ile-de-France (zone 1) whose consumption annualannual is 18,300 kWh (the prices indicated include VAT – source national energy broker as of 09.01.2021).

• 100% natural gas market offers.

Supplier	TO CONTRACT	Subscription	Average kWh cost	Annual cost	% biogas
Engie	Regulated gas tariff B1	€249.53	€0.0754	€1,629	0%
Toggle	Idea Gas T2	€240.52	€0.0528	€1,207	0%
Iberdrola	Digigas	€256.58	€0.0605	€1,363	0%
ENI	Webeo 1 year of gas	€273.18	€0.0598	€1,367	0%
edf	Advantage of connected gas	€257.16	€0.0616	€1,384	0%
Total energy	Online gas offer	€249.30	€0.0627	€1,396	0%

• Market offers including a share of biogas

Supplier	TO CONTRACT	Subscription	Average kWh cost	Annual cost	% biogas
ekWator	Natural gas 5% biomethane fixed price	€372.96	€0.0617	€1,502	5%
Total energy	Classic gas offer	€249.30	€0.0720	€1,568	10%
Yeli	Yeli nice 25% green gas.	€249.76	€0.0740	€1,603	25%
Bordeaux gas	Green gas offer	€249.75	€0.0771	€1,660	33%

• 100% biogas market offers.

Supplier	TO CONTRACT	Subscription	Average kWh cost	Annual cost	% biogas
Ilek	Haraucourt biogas	€312.94	€0.0754	€1,693	100%
ekWator	Natural gas 100% biomethane fixed price	€372.96	€0.0761	€1,766	100%
Yeli	Yeli militant gas 100% green	€249.76	€0.0831	€1,803	100%