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Energy bills: a new one-stop shop for businesses

Published on November 24, 2022 by Pierre Belhache - 4 mins reading time
SMALL BUSINESSES Companies Procedures Taxes Bills Gas Electricity

The government has opened a one-stop shop to help companies whose gas and electricity bills have soared and who do not have access to the tariff shield. The aim of the scheme is to provide assistance to a larger number of beneficiaries and reduce the time taken to pay energy bills.

Two eligibility criteria

The new one-stop shop to centralize requests for assistance with rising energy prices has been available since November 19.

"It's simple, all the complexity will be handled by the State, it's massive and it will be fast. Payments will be made in 15 days to 3 weeks for companies ", said Bruno Le Maire a few days ago.

 

 

All companies have access to this scheme, whatever their size. " Whether you're an SME, an ETI or a large company, you can receive between 4 and 150 million euros," added the Minister of the Economy.

In order to qualify, the latter points out that two eligibility criteria must be met. The applicant's energy bill must have risen by 50% between 2021 and 2022, and must represent at least 3% of sales for the same period in 2021.

For the months of September and October 2022, only companies whose electricity bill for these 2 months is greater than 3% of their sales recorded in September and October 2021 are eligible.

The one-stop shop will open in early 2023 for the period from November to December. To access it, companies will need to provide :

  • their energy bills for the month(s) concerned, as well as their 2021 bills;
  • the aid calculation file available on the tax site ;
  • a sworn statement attesting to the accuracy of the information provided.

The gas bill payment assistance scheme is open to all companies until December 31, 2022. The scheme comprises several sections, each with a ceiling of €4 million, €50 million and €150 million respectively.

A more flexible system

The operation of the one-stop shop has been simplified, the aim being to enable a greater number of players to benefit from aid, with an amount commensurate with the increase in their invoices, and to reduce payment times.

Eligibility criteria are now less stringent, and a simulator has been set up to give the new one-stop shop greater visibility and interest.

Measures to help businesses pay their energy bills in 2022 and 2023 (tariff shield, contribution to the public electricity service or TICFE, electricity buffer, regulated access to historical nuclear electricity or ARENH, etc.) have been maintained.