New Entrants Grow Market Share in France

New entrants are growing their market share in France, according to data published March 12 by energy regulator, Commission de Regulation de l'Energie (CRE). In its latest market observatory covering Q4 2018, the regulator said more customers were moving off legacy regulated tariffs.

"The competitive gas market as a whole has picked up pace, with 163,000 customers switching to market tariffs, up from 104,000 switching in Q3," the regulator said.

In the residential segment, where 60% of customers have now switched to market-based tariffs, new entrants added 114,00 new customers over the quarter. Incumbents like dominant gas utility Engie, Total Energie Gaz, and local companies in Strasbourg and Bordeaux added just 49,000.

In the industrial/commercial segment, where 90% of customers have now moved from regulated to market tariffs, new entrants added 5,000 new customers, while incumbents had a net loss of 1,000.

The report does not provide details of individual winners and losers, but it showed that the cheapest suppliers for residential heating customers on variable tariffs were Alterna Energie – a company owned by 51 local energy distribution companies – and Swedish- owned Vattenfall. The most expensive tariff was the green tariff offered by Total-owned Direct Energie, but this was still cheaper than the regulated tariff.