It’s the end of abundance, and of “whatever the cost”, has been thundering the government for several weeks now. In all sectors, prices have been soaring since the beginning of 2022, and France is preparing to spend a winter under the sign of the crisis… especially in energy.
To limit the surge in electricity and gas prices, for households and businesses, the Borne government announced in September the establishment of a tariff shield, which will cap the increase at 15%.
But the measure hides a wolf, and some VSEs (very small businesses) will, in fact, be excluded. The reason ? They simply consume too much energy to fit into the shield’s lap.
The Union of Independents and SMEs (SDI) assures, in a press release:
The organization specifies that, to try to get by with this tool, companies can only count on aid for energy-intensive companies, “aid which the Minister of the Economy himself recognizes that they are complex and unsuitable s , even unknown, especially VSEs”, continues the SDI.
This aid, capped at 3 billion euros, concerns all companies whose energy expenditure represents 3% of turnover in 2021, but, to benefit from it, VSEs must very often resort to the help of an accountant. , which has a cost.
For Jean-Guilhem Darré, general delegate of the SDI, Bercy must extend the tariff shield to all VSEs, without distinction, and without delay.
Because without this aid, many businesses are threatened… Just like the wallets of the French.
Indeed, if the energy bill of the VSEs concerned increases by more than 15% (according to government estimates, the increase could amount to 200% without the shield), the latter will have to increase their price considerably… or going bankrupt.
Not sure that customers are following suit, when they too are hard hit by inflation.
Many local businesses are likely to be impacted. In particular those who use “oven, refrigerated rooms, or a kneading machine”, declared Jean-Guilhem Darré, general delegate of the SDI, with TF1info. The use of these machines actually involves a quantity of energy that exceeds the threshold set by the government.
Among the most affected businesses are:
But what price increase should we really expect in the window, and from when?
At the end of September, the SDI was already sounding the alarm: bakers, taken by the throat by the rise in energy prices, will soon have no other solution but to increase their prices, starting this fall.
There is talk of a baguette at 1.50 euros, but also of other increases, in many local shops, to try to absorb the additional energy costs… And to avoid bankruptcy.
“The major risk is the closure of the company. Or an increase in the prices of the products sold, but in this case there will be a strong discrepancy with the purchasing power of consumers”, continued Jean-Guilhem Darré. at TF1Info.
Too high prices, in the face of consumers already wiped out by inflation… Should we expect a winter of serial bankruptcies?
