Court of Auditors criticizes discounted energy prices at EDF – unions plan strike

Paris – 18/07/2026: France’s Court of Auditors has sharply criticised the discounted electricity and gas tariff for employees of energy group EDF and other companies in the sector. According to findings published on Friday, the benefit caused costs of more than 700 million euros at group level in 2024. In its current form, the system is not sustainable in the long term, the oversight body believes.

The so-called employee tariff is considered a historic component of social status in the electricity and gas industries. It is available not only to current employees, but also to numerous pensioners of companies that emerged from the former state energy groups EDF and GDF. These include EDF, Engie, Enedis and GRDF, as well as other energy companies and local suppliers.

According to the Court of Auditors, beneficiaries currently pay less than two percent of the average energy prices that other consumers pay for electricity or gas. The authority also points to long-term obligations: in order to continue the benefit after the end of employment, EDF had to build up social provisions amounting to 3.9 billion euros by the end of 2024.

The Court of Auditors recommends gradually reducing the benefit and, above all, limiting the volume of energy taken into account. In addition, the tax and social assessment of this benefit should in future be more closely linked to average regulated electricity tariffs and reference gas prices, including taxes. The discussion therefore primarily concerns the hitherto very low valuation of this benefit in kind.

According to its own statements, the Ministry of Energy is considering changing the rules after the Court of Auditors called on it to align the valuation with the actual cost of energy. The decision is to be adopted in the form of a ministerial decree. Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure spoke in favour of first considering measures to better manage consumption and choosing a socially agreed timetable for the reform.

Trade unions are reacting strongly to possible cuts. The four major energy unions CGT, CFE-CGC, CFDT and FO adopted a joint call for action and strikes on Tuesday, 15 September 2026. The specific format is to be determined at the level of individual companies and occupational groups. Union representatives regard the tariff as part of the social compensation for employees in the sector.

EDF stated that employees are closely attached to the benefit because it is part of the company’s social system. The group intends to examine possible changes jointly with the parties involved and take account of further political decisions. The conflict thus combines issues of corporate finance, the taxation of benefits in kind and future social arrangements in the French energy sector.