Energy check: be careful, you only have three days left to use it

No more time to waste. If your energy check, sent last year in April, is still in the mail pile, you have barely three days left, until Sunday March 31, to send it to your supplier. Or use it directly on your site to pay gas or electricity bills. After, it will be too late.

This helping hand from the State has been awarded since 2018, generally in April, to the 5.6 million poorest households, and it is valid until the end of March of the following year. Calculated according to tax income, the aid can vary from 48 to 194 euros for a single person earning a maximum of 11,000 euros per year. For a couple with a child, it can reach up to 277 euros.

During the last energy crisis, two extensions of 100 euros each were even granted: the first at the end of 2021, and the second one year later.

To find out if you are eligible, the public authorities have set up a dedicated simulator. All you need to do is provide your tax number in advance. “If the household meets the required criteria, the sending is entirely automatic, in the form of a secure document with a number,” we explained in 2023 to the Ministry of Energy Transition. There is no action to take. You just need to have declared your income the previous year. »

Prices have jumped again this year

Despite this automaticity, “there remained this Tuesday (March 26) probably around a million beneficiaries who had not used it,” the Ministry of the Economy reports. The figure could still change significantly by the end of the week. Some might wake up at the last moment. “It will only be this summer that we will know the definitive usage rate of the 2023 energy check,” Bercy continues. Suppliers have until May 31 to be reimbursed for checks sent by their customers via the Services and Payment Agency (ASP)”. After this date, the ministry’s services will be able to carry out the calculations.

“A reminder campaign, by email, SMS or postal mail, was carried out between February 1 and March 20 among people who had not yet used their energy check,” said those close to the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire. Hoping that this latest publicity stunt is effective.

On February 1, electricity prices once again jumped almost 10%. After having already soared by more than 40% over the previous twelve months. Gas is no better off. On January 1 of this year, its rates had also increased further, due to the increase in another tax, frozen at the end of 2021 as part of the tariff shield. Enough to make bills jump from 20 euros to more than 220 euros per year on average for individuals.

At the beginning of February, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) published a new forecast of an increase in gas prices for the month of July 2024. The fault this time is the revaluation of a “transport” tax intended to cover the costs of using the network. Even if it is duly used by its beneficiaries, the energy check will unfortunately not be enough to compensate for all these increases.