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The French government will spend 12 billion euros ($12 billion) to help small and mid-sized companies that are struggling to pay soaring energy bills.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that the government will rely on three new mechanisms to help businesses, local authorities and associations, and to simplify access to aid.
About 7 billion euros of the total cost will be financed from a windfall tax imposed on energy companies’ profit made when they sell power above 180 euros per megawatt-hour.
Earlier, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the support will come in the form of an electricity guarantee based on a price corridor, with a floor of 325 euros per megawatt. The upper limit is still being discussed, Le Maire told BFM Business television.
The measure will be targeted at companies with no more than 250 employees and will cover a quarter of their bills, with half still based on existing regulated limits, leaving only 25 percent still exposed to markets. Businesses have been “terrified†by the prices reaching as much as 1,200 euros per megawatt, according to Le Maire.
Around 1.5 million very small companies will continue to benefit from a reduced tariff, like households, with rises limited to 15%, he said.
—Bloomberg