The reference price of gas will increase in May by 15.4% for three quarters of subscribers

Bad news for subscriber bills. The reference price of gas will increase by 15.4% from May 1 for three-quarters of subscribers, a consequence of energy disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East which caused market prices to rise, the energy regulatory commission (CRE), the sector’s watchdog, announced this Wednesday.

This increase in the “benchmark price” of gas will concern the approximately 7.5 million households having subscribed to a supplier offer indexed to this average price which varies every month, or approximately 73% of residential gas subscribers. According to the CRE, these subscribers will see their monthly bill increase by 6.19 euros including tax on average in May.

The independent administrative authority recalls that “this increase occurs in spring, a period when it is less necessary to use heating, mitigating the impact on household bills”.

War in the Middle East

This increase is the “consequence of the increase in prices on the gas markets which have occasionally doubled”, due to the war in the Middle East, therefore changing the “supply” part, one of the three components of the bill alongside taxes and transport costs, she also specified.

The calculation of the “supply” portion is based on a combination of average market prices observed during the previous two months, i.e. for May 2026, those of February and March. As a result, the benchmark price will increase on average to 160.54 EUR/MWh including tax on May 1st compared to 139.12 EUR/MWh on April 1st.

Since the disappearance of regulated gas prices, the “gas benchmark sales price (PRVG)” constitutes a sort of compass to help consumers orient themselves on the market and compare suppliers’ offers. On the other hand, the 27% of subscribers who subscribed to a fixed price offer “will therefore not see this increase applied during the duration of their contract”.