Electricity bills: Small businesses can apply for government assistance before June

SMEs are eligible for an extension. Small businesses exposed to soaring energy prices can still submit their certificates for government measures “until June” and the aid will be retroactive, Delegate Minister for SMEs Olivia Gregory said Tuesday.

Electricity bills from major suppliers for January and February are “coming in”, with a slight lag compared to other years, the minister explained at BFM Business. This delay is due to the consideration of the shock absorber, a device that should relieve companies of 15 to 20% of their electricity bills and is paid for by the state.

The shock absorber, which is valid throughout 2023, concerns small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that employ between 10 and 249 people and have a turnover of less than 50 million euros. To take advantage of this, a company must provide a Bercy certificate. “If we get a bill and say to ourselves: okay, I forgot to send a certificate … We can still do this before June. There is no March 31 deadline and the damper is retroactive,” she said.

12 billion euros in aid

It will also be possible to distribute payments on the account for the first two months of the year. These companies can also contact the help desk for gas and electricity bills, which is also available for companies with more than 250 employees. “Every two months we can send these bills for electricity, and it’s still 20% less,” the minister assured.

To receive this assistance, the electricity bill must increase by at least 50% between 2021 and the two-month period for which the company applies for assistance, and that the electricity bill is at least 3% of sales for the period. two month. Of the 12 billion euros allocated for this assistance, “we did not use a billion,” the minister also specified.