EDITORIAL

Mediation

for the ENGIE Group

in the face of the energy crisis

As we predicted in last year’s annual report, 2023 has met

our forecasts. The number of mediations has doubled,

mainly due to disputes over contract renewals or new contracts

signed in 2022. At certain times of the year, energy prices have

surged, sometimes by as much as 5 or 6 times.

What are the reasons for this sharp rise

in the number of mediations?

CONTENTS

21 TAKING ACTION / MEDIATION

ACTIVITY IN 2023

22 Excellent results despite an unprecedented

surge in disputes

28 PROPOSING RECOMMENDATIONS

29 Recommendations followed in 2023

30 Recommendations related to the crisis

33 Choosing the right energy supply of fer

34 NEWS

04 Highlights of 2023

06 2023, a record year?

07 The 8 values of Mediation

08 The unwavering commitment of the

Ombudsmans team

10 A look back at 2023 with JeanPierre Hervé

Ombudsman for the ENGIE Group

12 The legal framework for Mediation

14 The Ombudsmans resources

15 The Ombudsmans ecosystem

16 A f lexible approach to amicable settlement

17 COPING 2023 AN UNPRECEDENTED

CRISIS CONTEXT

18 2023 Ombudsman for the ENGIE Group feels

the full impact of the crisis

THE CONSUMER

OMBUDSMAN FOR

THE ENGIE GROUP

JeanPierre

HERVÉ

Let’s take a look from the consumer’s point of

view. The government had announced protec-

tive measures guaranteed by a tariff shield.

While regulated tariffs have been capped

from the end of 2021, the mechanism for

other “market” of fers followed complex and

evolving rules. Market of fers (unregulated tar-

if fs) saw much higher increases. There is also

a cultural issue: consumers were used to bill

increases being due to higher consumption, not

price hikes, which had been relatively stable in

past years.

For ENGIE, customer management processes

were also aligned with periods of price stability.

Since then, Mediation’s general recommenda-

tions during this period of sharp rises in energy

prices have helped to change these processes.

As a result, consumers had many legitimate

questions when renewing or establishing new

contracts in 2022 was the information in the

letters clear Were the letters actually sent

Were the tarif f shields applied correctly Who

was eligible Could the old processes create

issues with consent The Mediation team

responded to these questions on a caseby

case basis slightly extending processing

times due to the inf lux of cases while main

taining close contact with the parties involved

and adapting our processes to these specif ic

requests. This has kept our proposal accept-

ance rate above 80%.

This was made possible

by my independence and

that of my team, guaranteed

by the

Consumer Code

and the CECMC*, our state

oversight body.

However, this also raises questions about the

future. Will the government be able to con-

tinue these consumer protection measures in

the medium term? Probably not. Are market

prices likely to f luctuate signif icantly again?

In 2024, we are seeing signif icant decreases,

but will we return to the prices of 2021 when

consumer bills have risen by 40% to 60% since

then Finally can the French af ford their bills at

the current prices

The answers to these questions will determine

the volume of mediations for 2024 and 2025

Commission dévaluation et de contrôle de la médiation

de la consommation Consumer Mediation Assessment and Control

Commission