France is exploring ways to cap national electricity prices without falling foul of EU subsidy rules, including a possible windfall levy to deliver President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to “take back control” of prices.
One option under consideration is for the state to collect and redistribute some of nuclear power producer EDF’s revenues, according to people familiar with the talks. Such a move, part of a broader overhaul of the way power prices are regulated in France, would echo emergency measures authorised by Brussels during the energy crisis to collect “excess profits” when prices soared.
The mechanism would involve setting a ceiling for the price at which state-owned EDF sold its nuclear energy, including to other electricity distributors and industrial groups. Revenues above that threshold would revert to the government and be distributed back to end users.