The French competition regulator has stepped in to help energy companies who want to take on former power monopoly Electricite de France. The company will now have to supply some its electricity to its rivals for up to 15 years at below market prices.

The plan is intended to allow EDF’s rivals to compete with the state-owned utility’s low prices which come from the fact that so much of its electricity is generated by nuclear power station.

Since early July all household consumers in the European Union have – in theory – been able to choose their energy supplier. But in France, suppliers that try to enter the market find it hard to beat EDF’s low regulated prices.

France’s energy regulator says only 6,000 out of 29 million households have switched from EDF power contracts to other suppliers.

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