Electricity: can we modify our off-peak hours?

In the current context of the energy crisis, French consumers fear for their electricity bill. Indeed, the megawatt hour went from around 85 euros a year ago to more than 1000 euros in August, as reported by Femme Actuelle. And it’s not about to get better…

Faced with the exponential rise in their bills, many households have recently subscribed to an off-peak/peak hours contract, offered by many energy suppliers, and allowing them to pay less for their electricity by using it at certain times of the day. day rather than others.

However, you should know that it is absolutely not possible to modify or choose these off-peak time slots. According to EDF, this is due to the fact that they are defined by ENEDIS, the network operator, according to the times when electricity is the cheapest to supply. This depends on several factors, particularly related to the municipality in which you live. This is also why some benefit from several periods spread over 24 hours, and others from a single long one, which generally lasts all night.

Even by changing supplier, unless you move, your off-peak hours will therefore not change.

You can find on the ENEDIS website the ranges in force in your country according to your postal code. Watch out though! For consumers with a Linky meter, these time slots are randomly defined by ENEDIS at the national level. You can find them on the back of your invoice.

It is important to note that EDF’s off-peak tariffs are among the highest on the market, according to Selectra. By definition, the peak hour tariff is higher than that of the base tariff, so a peak/off-peak hour contract can only be profitable if you really shift your energy-intensive activities to off-peak time slots.

To find out if you should change your tariff to save money, it is very useful to monitor and note your approximate electricity consumption. The energy-info site also offers a calculator to define the least expensive option for your home.