Gas and electricity aid: simplification and extension until end 2023

In order to help companies affected by the increase in gas and electricity prices caused by the war in Ukraine, the government is offsetting the additional costs of energy expenditure compared to 2021 (natural gas, electricity, heat or cold produced from natural gas or electricity).

This assistance, available since July 2022, has been extended until 31 december 2023.

For TPEs with an electricity meter with a power output of more than 36 kVA and SMEs, the electricity bill payment assistance window is added to the electric shock absorber which shall apply to expenditure incurred on or after 1^er January 2023.

The filing schedule is as follows:

For the regularizations of energy expenditure for the months of March to December 2022, and for heat or cold produced from natural gas or electricity for the months of March to August 2022, the file must be submitted between 16 January and 31 December 2023. For the regularizations of energy expenditure for the months of January to December 2023, the application must be submitted between 18 September 2023 and 30 April 2024.

Eligible companies can apply on the professional area of the site www.impots.gouv.fr.

Simplified access conditions

Terms and Conditions

The eligibility criteria have been simplified in order to help companies affected by the energy crisis more effectively.

Companies shall be eligible for this aid if they cumulatively:

• were created before 1^er December 2021;
• are French tax residents;
• are not in safeguard proceedings, receivership or liquidation proceedings;
• have no outstanding tax or social security debt as at 31 December 2021 (except those settled or covered by a settlement plan at the date of filing the application);
• do not exercise an activity of electricity or heat generation, a credit institution or a financial institution.

• of which energy expenditure during the application period represents more than 3 % of its turnover during that period in 2021 ;
• have undergone a an increase of at least 50 % in the energy price during the aid application period compared to the average price paid in 2021.

Conditions specific to the most energy-intensive companies

For companies with higher energy expenditure, aid can reach up to €50 million. The maximum aid of up to EUR 150 million concerns companies in sectors at risk of carbon leakage.

In both cases, companies must now:

• to have been subjected to an increase of at least 50 % in the energy price during the aid application period compared to the average price paid in 2021 ;
• have energy expenditure during the reference period representing more than 3 % of the turnover during that period or of energy expenditure of 1^er half of 2022 which represent more than 6% of the turnover during the 1^er half of 2022;
• have a gross operating surplus negative or down by 40 % over the period of application for aid.

Variable help

The amount of this aid varies according to the company's situation:

• aid equal to 50 % of the difference between the 2021 invoice plus 50 % and the invoice concerned, capped at EUR 4 million;
• aid equal to 65 % of the difference between the 2021 invoice plus 50 % and the relevant invoice (up to 70 % of 2021 consumption), capped at EUR 50 million (the company concerned must have a gross operating surplus (EBE) negative ‘gas and electricity’ during the eligible period or a decrease of at least 40 % between the 2021 EBE for gas and electricity and the 2022 or 2023 EBE for the eligible period concerned);
• aid equal to 80 % of the difference between the 2021 invoice plus 50 % and the relevant invoice (up to 70 % of 2021 consumption), capped at EUR 150 million (the company concerned must have a gross operating surplus (EBE) negative ‘gas and electricity’ during the eligible period or a decrease of at least 40 % between the 2021 EBE for gas and electricity and the 2022 or 2023 EBE for the eligible period concerned). This aid is intended for companies in a sector exposed to a risk of carbon leakage.

Companies eligible for the electricity shock absorber (TPE with an electricity meter with a power output of more than 36 kVA and SMEs) may also benefit from this gas and electricity aid for invoices relating to 2023.

The documents to be provided

In order to be eligible for this aid, the following documents must be provided at the time of your application:

• the declaration of honor certifying that the company fulfills the conditions and the accuracy of the information declared;
• the help calculation file full;
• company bank details (RIB);
• the 2021 and 2023 general balances where requested;
• energy bills for the whole of 2021 and energy bills for the eligible period 2023;
• where requested, the attestation of a trusted third party (that of an auditor accompanied by an attestation from the DAF or that of an accountant);
• for aid applications capped at EUR 150 million for the relevant qualifying periods, a proof of the company's activity.