Several associations denounce the removal of the automatic sending of the energy check

If Article 60 of the 2025 Finance Bill is adopted, the automation of the sending of the energy check will be ended, this aid which only concerns very low-income households, and for whom the energy check is a budgetary imperative. Forcing them to now apply for it on a platform will have the effect of excluding, for non-recourse, a large number of them from the system.

According to the figures communicated to UFC-Que Choisir by the administration, only 3% of the new potential beneficiaries of the energy check in 2024 have obtained it to date. This situation confirms the strong fears that the association had expressed to the ministerial administration, given the lack of communication and the difficulty for the households concerned to register on the digital platform set up.

The 2025 "energy check" campaign is set to be even more difficult: in order to be eligible for the check, it would potentially be necessary to systematically register on a new digital platform, to provide your PDL (electricity delivery point) number, the tax number of the holder of the energy supply contract, and to provide proof of your place of residence.

The organizations consider that the beneficiaries of the energy check, 20% of the population, or 5,6 million households, often living below the poverty line, should not be the victims of the end of the automatic payment of the energy check. Consumer associations feel that the government is deliberately complicating access to the energy check in order to make budgetary savings to the detriment of the most deprived. However, the draft finance law gives the administration the power to establish a list of beneficiaries of the energy check by cross-referencing the reference tax income with the number of tax shares. It will therefore be possible to identify all households whose reference tax income is below the ceiling of 11.000 euros per consumption unit and thus protect them from an additional risk of loss of purchasing power, especially since tax increases are planned on electricity.

In view of the above, consumer organisations call on the Government and all parliamentarians who will be examining the draft finance bill for 2025 to:

• Protect a sufficient budget envelope to increase the amount of the energy check, and thus support households in a situation of energy insecurity whose reference tax income is currently less than 11.000 euros: the energy check must not only cover the cost of the increase in taxes and the inflation experienced in energy prices since 2019;
• Ensure, through the check payment terms:
  • not to “forget” households eligible for the energy check for the year 2025 and to exclude any system based on a prior request from beneficiaries;
  • to be based on the reference tax income to automate its allocation;
• In the immediate term, extend the lifespan of the digital platform aimed at identifying new beneficiaries of the 2024 campaign beyond December 31, 2024.

Signatories: ADEIC (Association for the Defense and Information of Consumers) - AFOC (Association Force Ouvrière consumers) - ALLDC (Association Léo Lagrange for the Defense of Consumers) - CLCV (Confederation of Housing and Living Environment) - CLER Network - CNAFAL (National Council of Secular Family Associations) - CNAFC (National Confederation of Catholic Family Associations) - CNL (National Housing Confederation) - CSF (Family Trade Union Confederation) - Familles de France - Familles Rurales - FNCCR (National Federation of Granting Authorities and Authorities) - Abbé Pierre Foundation - Indecosa-CGT - Secours Catholique - UFC (Federal Union of Consumers) - ULCC (Secular Union of Citizen Consumers) - UNAF (National Union of Family Associations).

(1) https://www.quechoisir.org/action-ufc-que-choisir-cheque-energie-1-million-de-nouveaux-beneficiaires-passeront-ils-leur-tour-n121282/

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.