Energy: More than a Third of French Households Struggle to Pay their Bills

HOUSEHOLD BUDGET: With many households struggling to pay bills, three quarters of households restrict their heating for financial reasons

For millions of French people, heating your home has become a luxury. More than a third of them (36%) say they have struggled to pay certain bills gas or electricity over the last twelve months, an unprecedented rate against a backdrop of rising prices energy, according to the annual barometer of the national energy mediator published this Tuesday.

These payment difficulties, which concerned 28% of households in 2024 and 18% of households in 2020, have never been so widespread, underlines the mediator. Another indicator of the magnitude of the precariousness energy: the heating restriction for financial reasons still concerns almost three quarters of households, with a rate of 74% still close to the record of 79% recorded in 2023.

Cuts or reductions for one in ten households

Over the past year, in addition to the increase in the amount of energy bills noted by a majority of households, the late distribution of the 2025 energy check – in November and not in the spring due to the delay in adoption of the energy law. finances – further complicated the situation. Bercy announced in mid-October that 3.8 million households would automatically receive their energy check from the 3rsd November.

This staggered payment was penalizing for 61% of households benefiting from this aid intended for the poorest and 35% of them experienced payment difficulties which could go as far as a power cut or reduction (10% of households beneficiaries). In this context, the national energy mediator, Olivier Challan Belval, reiterates his call to prohibit power cuts in the event of unpaid bills and to establish a right to a minimum electricity supply.

“On the eve of the winter break, I would like to remind you that electricity is a basic necessity”, he declared. Stressing that power cuts for unpaid bills “are very violent for the most vulnerable households”, he proposes “replacing them with a limitation on the power of the electricity supply”.

READ ALSO: Cost of Living in France 2025: A Realistic Breakdown for Families on a Budget

This barometer, the seventh of its kind, was carried out by the Becoming Institute from 10th to 17th September with a representative sample of 2,000 French metropolitan households surveyed electronically.