France in Focus

Hi
Does anyone else subscribe to the Tempo plan from EDF?

We have for a number of years and it suits us.
Basicly you get 300 of your normal "blue" days, where the rate is slightly cheaper, 43 white days that are slightly over the normal rate, but between 1st november and 31st march you get 23 red days which are very expensive, normaly by this time, the bulk of the red days have been used, but there are 24 days left, and we still have 13 red days left, presumably they are going to try and cram them in. I wondered if anyone else had noticed this.

You're not the only one.

quote:

Subscribers to EDF's Tempo offer are holding their breath as March 2026 approaches. While only nine red days have been announced between November 2025 and mid-February 2026, 13 red days remain to be scheduled before the end of March. For nearly one million customers affected, this could result in a series of red days, which could significantly increase energy bills.

unquote

Source.

It is not really a disaster, you can ignore the red days and still come off cheaper over the year than any other contract. The red night tariff is cheap, so that can be used to advantage, it just needs planning.

There's a cold spell forecast from next weekend.

St. Petersburg: Safe heat, close the door.

When you remove Saturdays and Sundays there are fewer days to place the red ones. We are returning after a winter break on 20th March so we will need to be very careful. Although we use electric heaters through the winter, during the night, we have full propane powered central heating and hot water so it should be possible to manage our use of electricity even if it is on a red day.

According to this site, CRE whomever they are have stated that any red days after 19 March will be changed to white days. Will EDF comply?
https://www.services-rte.com/en/view-da ... rings.html

Two masters of le Château Électrique in France: EDF producing electricity and the RTE responsible for the high-voltage transport. It's up to the RTE (Réseau de Transport de l'Électricité) to decide when enough is enough to prevent a possible overload of their expensive high-voltage lines and transformers. The RTE decides when to activate Tempo ‘red days’. This decision is based on national consumption forecasts and the balance between supply and demand, usually during cold spells. ENEDIS, responsible for the low-voltage side, has the honour to send the corresponding signals to all the compteurs involved.

About the CRE:

La Commission de Régulation de l'Énergie (CRE) est une autorité administrative indépendante française créée en 2000. Elle régule les marchés de l'électricité et du gaz, garantit l'accès aux réseaux, favorise la concurrence entre fournisseurs, et surveille les prix au bénéfice des consommateurs

At the moment it is evident that EDF are just cramming all the red days into the remaining valid weekdays. It is now impossible for them to also use all the white days. I have not experienced this before since changing to Tempo. All Sundays are Blue. That strange choice of 19th March has been ignored. I can’t see the logic of their advice to EDF.
We have had a relatively mild winter, in UK and in France. Our energy bills are significantly down in both places.

@ Polarengineer and Trelawney, I’m afraid I’m still a bit naive to rely on the simple logic of Ohm’s law and the need to do something when the grid threatens to become overloaded. In case of emergency, break glass.....

The costly ‘red days’ of the EDF Tempo contract are apparently set in stone, a sort of eleventh commandment. I should have known better, money is the name of the game...