French power tariffs could rise by 10% in early 2024

PARIS (Reuters) -French electricity tariffs could rise by up to 10% in early 2024, the country's energy regulator said on Thursday, while cautioning it was too early to say exactly how much inflation-hit consumers will have to pay to keep the lights on next year.

In August, the government of the euro zone's second-biggest economy began the phasing-out of price caps put in place to help households cope with energy bills which had soared since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Although inflation has slowed in recent months, it remains a central focus of policymakers in France and elsewhere in Europe as they fight to deliver growth and protect household incomes.

Emmanuelle Wargon, head of the energy regulation commission (CRE), told a news conference it was premature to provide exact calculations for the fixed electricity tariffs French consumers will be able to choose from next year.

Wargon initially told reporters that power prices could go up by as much as 20% next year. But the watchdog later issued a correction of its own estimates, saying its calculations pointed to a maximum increase of 10% from early 2024.

Asked about a possible increase of regulated power next year, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he was ruling out a 10%-20% increase in power prices for early 2024, but made no comment about a possible 10% hike.

"A rise of 10 to 20% in electricity prices is ruled out for early 2024," Le Maire told reporters.

The initial 10%-20% price increase forecast was seized upon by far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who in a post on X, formerly Twitter, accused the government of strangling French consumers with "unbearable" electricity bills.

Wargon replied to Le Pen's post saying a correction had been issued and that the final calculations would be made in January.

Once finalised, the CRE's price calculation will be submitted for the government to make its own tariff decision, which can diverge from the watchdog's recommendations.

(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Tassilo Hummel and Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Mark Heinrich and David Holmes)