230.000 households deregistered by their energy supplier in 2012

Remember, we already mentioned ways to explain these difficulties that weigh on every French household,

ROMAINVILLE (Seine-Saint-Denis) (Reuters) - The subscription of 230.000 homes to electricity or gas was terminated in 2012 at the initiative of energy suppliers due to unpaid bills, said Monday the delegate of the Energy Ombudsman Bruno Léchevin during a trip with the Minister of Energy on the subject of fuel poverty.

The adoption of the energy law, which must definitely be adopted Monday evening by the Assembly, must put an end to energy cuts during the winter but terminations are another worrying phenomenon, he said. .

"The cancellations at the initiative of the supplier are for 2012 of the order of 230.000 in gas and electricity", said Bruno Léchevin, during a meeting with families affected by fuel poverty in Romainville (Seine-Saint- Dennis).

These terminations are up by more than 20% for electricity and some indebted households are struggling to regain access to energy, he added.

"And the consumer sometimes has trouble finding a supplier (...) to such an extent that he is advised to find another supplier without saying that he is in difficulty with payment, without saying that he has a debt" , added Bruno Léchevin.

Nearly 8 million people are today affected by energy poverty in France and devote more than 10% of their income to their energy bill.

About 580.000 power cuts or power cuts to 1.000 watts, the consumption of a radiator, took place in 2012, but the Brottes bill should put an end to this practice and extend the beneficiaries of social tariffs from one to four million. Energy .

“It is a question of human dignity, that in winter we are not put in a situation where we cannot heat ourselves”, underlined the Minister of Energy Delphine Batho, specifying that it was a question of emergency measures which should be supplemented by the building thermal renovation plan.

The government is committed to renovating the French housing stock, where the oldest dwellings, qualified as thermal sieves, swallow up nearly 50% of the energy consumed.

Seventeen electricity and/or gas suppliers are currently accessible to individuals in France, but incumbent operators concentrate most of the market.

Marion Douet, edited by Yves Clarisse

source: Reuters

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