Download the PDF version >> 

Paris, 10 December 2007 - The French State council (Conseil d'Etat) today partially cancelled the 29 December 2005 order of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry on tariffs for natural gas.

In an opinion dated 27 July 2007, the Competition council, appealed to by the State council, had considered that the gas retail prices applied by Gaz de France as defined in the order of 29 December 2005 were less than the costs actually incurred by Gaz de France. On this basis, the State council has decided that the order of 29 December breached the law of 3 January 2003 which states that gas retail prices must cover all costs.

The State council considered that "it was up to the relevant Minister on the date of the decision to act as follows:

• enable the cover of total average costs incurred by operators as a minimum, as assessed at this date;
• account for an estimation of changes in these costs over the coming year, on the basis of the information held by the Minister at this date;
• adjust these prices if a significant difference is observed between prices and costs due to the under-estimation of prices, at least during the past year, to compensate for this difference within a reasonable period."

Gaz de France is satisfied with this decision which clarifies the legal framework applicable to tariffs for natural gas.

Gaz de France will examine the consequences of this decision in coming weeks and will launch negotiations with the government as rapidly as possible to define the optimum solutions to ensure compliance with law and the Public service contracts signed with the government in 2005.

Gaz de France wishes to emphasize its standing commitment to keep gas prices at a minimum.

Gaz de France has developed a long-term supply contract portfolio with the main producers of natural gas (Norway, Russia, Algeria, Egypt, etc.) enabling it to conclude long-term contracts for more than 80% of its supply.

This diversified portfolio enables Gaz de France to secure the deliveries of natural gas for it customers and to obtain the most competitive natural gas acquisition prices in Europe. In compensation, these contracts provide for the indexing of gas acquisition costs on oil prices.

Changes in retails prices for natural gas, as defined in the Public service contract concluded between the government and Gaz de France, are therefore mainly the result of costs for natural gas from suppliers.

Press contact:

Armelle Dillar
Tel.: +33 1 47 54 30 17
E-mail: armelle.dillar@gazdefrance.com

Financial Communication contact:

Brigitte Roeser Herlin
Tel.: +33 1 47 54 77 25
E-mail: GDF-IR-TEAM@gazdefrance.com

Group profile:

The Gaz de France group is a major actor on the energy market in Europe. The group is the number 1 distributor of natural gas in Europe. Gaz de France employs approximately 50 000 members of personnel and generated a turnover of 28 thousand million euros in 2006. The Group has a portfolio of approximately 14 million customers, 11 million of which reside in France. Gaz de France is listed on the Paris stock exchange and is part of the CAC 40 index and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600.