Despite the establishment of a tariff shield, the cost of energy weighs down the budget of the French a little more every day. Unable to pay their bills, thousands of families find themselves in a situation of non-payment, at the risk of having their electricity or gas reduced or cut.

Some 785,096 interventions to suspend energy supply and limit power were recorded by the Energy Ombudsman in 2021, up 17% compared to 2019. However, several household protection measures aim to avoid such extremes.

Reminders

Not sure if you can pay your electricity or gas bill on time? Be aware that the law gives you an initial period of 14 days from its date of issue or its payment deadline (indicated on the document).

Otherwise, your energy supplier must send you a first reminder letter that gives you an additional 15 days to pay off your debt. This period even increases to 30 days if you are a beneficiary of the energy voucher or financial assistance from the Fonds de solidarité pour le logement (FSL).

Are you still in the red? At the end of this deadline, you will receive a second reminder letter with another 20 days after which your electricity or gas can be cut off or reduced if you still have not paid, knowing that the technician's travel will be additionally charged.

In total, you can get a reprieve of 49 or 64 days, depending on your situation, to pay off your debt if it was a temporary bad time or to find a solution if your financial worries persist.

Aid

It is therefore essential to take advantage of this period of time to activate all possible aids. At the first payment difficulty, contact your supplier to ask for a schedule.

He was not conciliatory? Contact the Communal Centre for Social Action (CCAS) in your city, it could tip the balance in your favor. The social services can indeed intervene as an intermediary with the operator, but also give you local help. They can still help you set up a file with the Fonds de solidarité pour le logement in order to obtain a loan or a grant.

This appeal also allows you to interrupt the final period of twenty days before power cut or limitation, until the FSL decides your request within 2 months maximum.

Other actors may also be called to the rescue, such as the Family Allowances Fund (CAF), the Agricultural Social Mutuality (MSA) or your pension fund, depending on your situation. Similarly, various charities can provide occasional financial support or accompany you in your efforts (Red Cross, Secours populaire, SOS Familles Emmaüs, etc.).

More broadly, you can find help and advice in the Budget Advice Points or by calling the Energy-Info service set up by the sector mediator at the toll-free number 0 800 112 212 (free call).

Cut or limitation?

As soon as you have not paid your debt on time and have informed you, your supplier is entitled to deprive you of energy... with certain exceptions. It is forbidden to suspend the supply of electricity or gas during the winter break (from November 1 to March 31), only the reduction of power is allowed.

Similarly, since April 1, 2022, EDF no longer applies any power cuts to these customers in a situation of non-payment, regardless of the time of year. Instead, the operator performs a power limitation to 1kVA.

In the same logic, the legislation has imposed on all energy suppliers a mandatory period of reduction of electrical power of at least 60 days up to 1kVA before any cut for beneficiaries of the energy check or FSL equipped with a Linky meter, as of April 1, 2023.

During this period, the operator must also contact you at least twice to reach an agreement on the payment of your invoice.

Termination

Beyond the risk of cutting or limiting energy, it is that of the pure and simple termination of your contract that hangs in your face in case of non-payment! As soon as your supplier informs you by mail, you must therefore subscribe as soon as possible to another operator to avoid finding yourself in the dark.

OUR "ENERGY SAVINGS" DOSSIER

But be careful, this will not cancel your debt that will have to be paid anyway at one time or another.

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