How to save money on electricity in France

As a student, you are probably a tenant, renting an apartment and it will be impossible to escape the electricity tax unless you use services such as Airbnb, which already covers these costs. This may not  necessarily be the biggest expense however, saving a few euros on your electricity will do your wallet as well as the planet some good!

Here are some tips on how to pay less for electricity:

1. Logical but practical: Turn off your unnecessary lights: 

We, as students, are sometimes a bit lazy, but to simply reduce your bill at the end of the month,  you simply have to turn off your lights.  Your TV, the heater, your bedroom lights when you aren’t in  the room. These are a few examples of easy ways to save a few euros. Simple.

2. Use off-peak hours:

If you are an EDF customer or any alternatives, you can benefit from so-called "off-peak" hours.  These are certain hours of the day where customers pay less for their electricity which vary depending on your electricity provider.  Generally, these hours are less "practical", for example between 3am and 7am but you can also have off-peak hours between 9pm and 11pm. Make the most of these off-peak hours to use your energy-intensive products such as your washing machine, dishwasher or oven.

Therefore we recommend asking your electricity provider about these hours so that you may fully take advantage, and adapt to your accommodation.

On this site you will find all the off-peak hours for cities in France:

https://selectra.info/energie/guides/tarifs/electricite/heures-creuses/horaires 

3. Change electricity supplier: 

This may sound radical, but changing suppliers can help you save a small fortune in the long run.  Obviously, if you are a tenant for a period of less than 1 year, it may not necessarily be worth it.  However, if you are going to be living in the same city for several years, this could turn out to be a  beneficial solution. (PS: what's also beneficial is our NYOLEM challenge that will make you adopt a healthier lifestyle, go check it out !)

Changing suppliers in France is not very complicated, the procedure is free and your new supplier will be the ones responsible for terminating the old contract. To change, simply provide your 14-digit delivery point number (PDL), which you will find on your electricity bill to the new provider and they should take care of the rest.

Here is a list of relatively cheap suppliers in 2019:

• Mint Energie
• Cdiscount Energie
• GreenYellow
• OHM Energy

Simply yours, 

Tim