The government selects 109 territories for an electrification plan financed by the CEE

Around a hundred territories bringing together nearly 7,000 municipalities have been selected by the government to receive financial support with a view to accelerating their electrification and reducing their CO2 emissions, according to information transmitted by the Ministry of Energy and unveiled Thursday September 10 by Le Parisien, in the midst of the energy crisis.

Saint-Maur (Val-de-Marne), the agglomeration community of the Basque Country, Corsica, the community of communes Terre de Beauce, in Eure-et-Loir, as well as Martinique and Réunion are among the territories towards which “the 10 billion euros of the global electrification plan, available thanks to energy saving certificates (EEC)” will be prioritized. EECs are contributions paid by energy suppliers according to the “polluter pays” principle to finance decarbonization actions.

One in four French people affected

Precisely, 109 territories were selected “out of the nearly 200 which responded to the call for applications”, indicated the Minister Delegate for Energy, Maud Brégeon, in a daily interview. “More than one in four French people will benefit from this system,” according to the minister, who cites as priority objectives the elimination of gas and fuel oil for heating, or electric mobility, with an acceleration in the deployment of charging stations, before mentioning a component for agriculture and crafts.

Moving forward, the minister announced the launch “in October of the second phase of the electrification plan, to further accelerate the movement”, which “will be financed by redeploying credits devoted to certain costly and insufficiently effective aid”. “The current energy crisis reminds us of our strong dependence on imported fossil fuels,” underlined Maud Brégeon, who recalls that fossil fuels, gas and oil, “represent 60% of the energy” consumed in France, and wishes to use as much as possible carbon-free French electricity, produced using nuclear power and renewables.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu launched in April a vast plan to electrify the country's economy, comprising 22 measures to strengthen the country's energy sovereignty, support the purchasing power of households and the competitiveness of businesses.

The government also intends to “make France a European champion of industrial hydrogen”, indicated Maud Brégeon, who announced the upcoming launch, “as part of the 2027 budget”, of a “new call for tenders of 1.2 billion euros over fifteen years”, which aims in particular to “support the steel industry in its decarbonization”.