Created to replace social energy tariffs, the energy cheque aims to combat the effects of fuel poverty by offering low-income households assistance in paying their energy bills. In the report published today, the Court of Accounts makes a series of observations which it believes justify a review of the real nature of the scheme: in this respect, it notes in particular that the sole criterion used by the public authorities – the standard of living of the members of the household – makes its targeting ineffective. Furthermore, the fact that the cheque can finance any type of energy goes against France’s climate objectives since it ends up subsidising the use of high-carbon and low-carbon energies in the same way. As well as changing the parameters of the energy cheque and making it more consistent, the Court proposes three possible scenarios, based on a clarification of the objectives pursued.
