Gas, electricity… What will change on your bills from January 1, 2026

If gas bills will increase by around fifty euros on average over the year, those for electricity will be stable for three-quarters of households at the regulated rate.

“We are not heading towards an explosion, neither in electricity prices nor in gas prices. We are, overall, heading towards stability”indicates Emmanuelle Wargon, president of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), to franceinfo.

Several mechanisms enter into the composition of gas and electricity prices which will change from Thursday January 1, but the prices will change little, far from the surges experienced in recent years.

Two changes should be noted on your electricity bill in 2026. Energy Saving Certificates (C2E) will increase. With these certificates, suppliers have the obligation to finance actions to reduce consumption, such as renovation work.

At the same time, until now, EDF sold part of its nuclear electricity to suppliers at a fixed, discounted price. This mechanism, called “Arenh” (“regulated access to historic nuclear electricity”), is stopping. EDF will sell everything on the markets. This change raised fears of an increase in prices, but Emmanuelle Wargon of the CRE puts things into perspective: “The Arenh represented roughly half of the electricity portion of the bill. This fixed price disappears but, in previous years, the entire bill was not covered. There was a part that was purchased at the last minute by suppliers, and this part was purchased expensively“.

“We have a lower part which is disappearing, but it turns out that the end of the Arenh is happening at a time when market prices are low, this allows the bill to stabilize.”

Emmanuelle Wargon, president of the Energy Regulatory Commission

at franceinfo

This “stability” mainly concerns three quarters of households, those with a regulated rate and those who have a contract indexed to this rate. For those on a market offer, everything depends on the conditions of the contract.

On the other hand, regarding your gas bill, suppliers warn: they will pass on the increase in Energy Saving Certificates and the cost of a new certificate: that for the production of biogas. According to them, bills will therefore increase, by around fifty euros on average, over the year.

However, the benchmark price, calculated by the Energy Regulatory Commission, is stable for January, because at the same time, the gas markets are trending downward. Emmanuelle Wargon therefore advises comparing the offers carefully: “It’s easy to compare, there is a comparator on the website of the national energy mediator. And then you can always change supplier free of charge, for individuals there are no cancellation fees. If you are not happy, you can change supplier”.

Finally, we must keep in mind that energy bills could increase or decrease during the year, depending on taxes, depending on the political choices that will be decided in the 2026 budget.