The Benchmark Selling Price Of Natural Gas Increases By 15.4% Including Tax On May 1, 2026, According To The Energy Regulatory Commission. This Indicator, Which Has Served As A Reference Since The End Of Regulated Tariffs In 2023, Does Not Affect All Customers Equally. Indexed Offers Are The Most Exposed, While Fixed-Price Contracts Remain Temporarily Protected. In The Background, The Middle East Crisis Reminds How Dependent Households Remain On Shocks In The Global Market.
A Clear Rise In The Gas Price, But Uneven Effects Depending On Contracts
The CRE Announced On April 8, 2026 That The Average Benchmark Gas Price Would Rise From 139.12 Euros Per MWh Including Tax On April 1 To 160.54 Euros On May 1. The Increase Is Large In Percentage Terms, But It Should Not Be Interpreted As A Uniform Hike Applied To All Subscribers.
The Benchmark Selling Price Of Gas Is Not A Tariff That Can Be Subscribed To. Since The End Of Regulated Tariffs On June 30, 2023, It Has Mainly Served As A Comparison Point For Consumers. Additionally, It Is Used As An Indexing Basis For Some Offers Marketed By Suppliers. In Other Words, It Sheds Light On The Market, But It Is Not A Contract Itself.
Therefore, It Is Mainly Households Whose Offer Is Indexed To This Benchmark Price, Or More Broadly To Wholesale Markets, That Will See The Increase Reflected On Their Bill. Conversely, Customers Under A Fixed-Price Offer Do Not Directly Suffer This Variation During The Term Stipulated By Their Contract.
The CRE Estimated 10.34 Million Households Had A Natural Gas Contract As Of December 31, 2025. It Also Stated That At The End Of 2025, 27% Of Consumers Were On A Fixed-Price Offer. That Means A Large Majority Of Households Remain Potentially Exposed, To Varying Degrees, To Movements In The Benchmark Price.
Why The International Crisis Shows Up On The May Bill
The CRE Attributes This Surge Solely To The Supply Component Of The Benchmark Price. Other Components, Such As Transmission Or Taxes, Do Not Change In This Sequence. The Mechanism Is Worth Recalling, Because It Explains Why The Bill Reacts With A Lag To Geopolitical News.
To Establish The May 2026 Price, The Commission Relies In Particular On Market Indices Observed Upstream. The Monthly Index Used For Supply Is, For The Most Part, Based On Quotes Recorded In March 2026 For A May Delivery. This Means The Shock Does Not Appear Immediately On Household Bills: It First Passes Through Wholesale Markets, Then Through The Formula For Calculating The Benchmark Price.
According To The CRE, The Ongoing Crisis In The Middle East Caused Gas Prices On The Markets To Rise, With Spikes Where Prices Momentarily Doubled Over The Period Considered. The Signal Sent To French Households Is Therefore Not Merely National. It Results From A Chain Where The Geopolitical Event, Energy Purchases, And Calculation Rules Ultimately Converge.
This Point Is Essential To Understand Household Budget Vulnerability. Even When Gas Use Seems Strictly Domestic—for Hot Water, Cooking, Or Heating—Its Price Depends On An International Market. Indeed, This Market Is Highly Sensitive To External Tensions.
Will The Gas Price Increase For All Households?
No. This Is The Main Watchpoint In This Matter. The May 1, 2026 Increase Primarily Concerns Consumers Whose Offer Follows The Benchmark Selling Price Of Gas. It Also Affects Those With A Similar Formula Linked To The Markets. For Them, The Increase Will Be Visible On The Bill. However, Its Exact Size Depends On The Contract, Consumption Profile, And Sometimes The Tarif Zone.
The CRE Estimates The Average Impact At €6.19 Including Tax On The May Bill. This Amount Gives A Useful Order Of Magnitude, But It Does Not Apply To All Cases. A Household Using Gas Only For Cooking Or Heating Water Does Not Suffer The Same Increase. Conversely, A Home Heated By Gas Is Affected Differently. Indeed, This Is Particularly True In Cold Periods. The Bill Also Depends On The Offer Structure. This Includes A Fixed Subscription Fee And A Consumption Price That Do Not Weigh The Same Way Depending On Usage.
Spring Also Mitigates The Immediate Effect. In May, Consumption Generally Falls Compared To Winter, Which Mechanically Limits The Monthly Shock For Gas-Heated Households. But This Seasonal Moderation Does Not Change The Core Problem: As Soon As Markets Spike, Household Protection Depends Largely On The Type Of Contract They Signed.
This New Episode Also Reminds Us Of A Broader Difficulty: Many Consumers Still Speak Of The “Gas Tariff” As If There Were Still A Single Public Price. In Reality, This Benchmark Mainly Serves To Compare Now-Liberalized Offers, With Very Different Levels Of Exposure.
What Is The Current Gas Price In France?
On May 1, 2026, The Average Benchmark Price Published By The CRE Stands At €160.54 Per MWh Including Tax, Versus €139.12 One Month Earlier. Converted To Kilowatt-Hour, That Corresponds To An Average Level Of About €0.161 Including Tax Per kWh, Across Consumers Served By GRDF.
However, This Figure Is Not The Exact Price Paid By Each Household. It Is A Reference Average, Constructed To Reflect The Costs Incurred By Suppliers. Indeed, It Concerns Zones Covered By GRDF, Which Concentrate Most Residential Customers. In Areas Served By Local Distribution Companies, Levels May Differ.
This Benchmark Remains Central To Understanding The Evolution Of The Gas Price In France Today. It Allows Tracking The Market And Measuring The Gap Between Two Months. Thus, One Can Quickly Know Whether An Indexed Offer Becomes More Expensive Or Not. In That Sense, It Has Become A Tool For Reading Energy Purchasing Power.
The May 1, 2026 Increase Does Not By Itself Announce A Lasting Trajectory For The Coming Months. But It Highlights A More Stable Reality: After The End Of Regulated Tariffs, A Significant Share Of Households Remains Directly Or Indirectly Exposed To Market Shocks. As Long As Gas Is Purchased In An Internationally Unstable Environment, French Households’ Bills Will Stay Sensitive. They Will React To Events Played Out Far Beyond Their Meter.