From the second half of 2021, energy prices have begun to bounce back with the post-covid global economic recovery. The rise accelerated in the spring of 2022 in Europe, after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. As a result of price-setting mechanisms on European wholesale electricity markets, which pass on cyclical increases in wholesale gas prices, wholesale electricity prices have risen sharply in most European countries. This surge in wholesale prices paved the way for massive increases in retail prices and therefore justified exceptional Government intervention. While oil and electricity prices remain high in 2023, and certain exceptional measures have been extended until 2024 in France, the Court of Accounts has endeavoured to draw up a provisional assessment of the measures taken, particularly in terms of their implementation, their impact on end customers and public finances, and their relationship with longer-term energy policies.
