As of January 1, 2026, the regulated access to historical nuclear electricity (ARENH), which expires on December 31, 2025, will be replaced by a new government-established mechanism. The objective is to redistribute to consumers a portion of the income generated from the operation of historic nuclear power plants.
The new system has two objectives:
- Protect end consumers from sharp increases in electricity prices
- Ensure that EDF’s income is aligned with its operating costs.
The Universal Nuclear Payment (VNU) is based on a progressive taxation system composed of two components.
1. A Levy on EDF’s Nuclear Power Plants’ Income Through Taxation
Once the income generated by the operation of the power plants exceeds one of the two thresholds below, a portion of the income will be taxed:
- First threshold: “Taxation” threshold
- Above this threshold, 50% of the income generated by EDF’s nuclear fleet will be levied.
- Second threshold called “Capping” threshold
- Above this threshold, 90% of the income generated by EDF’s nuclear fleet will be levied.
The Taxation and Capping thresholds will be defined by ministerial order by the end of 2025, jointly by the ministers for economy and energy, following consultation with the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE).
These thresholds will be applied for a three-year period and may be re-evaluated to account for various factors defined by law, including:
- Changes in the full costs of historical nuclear energy generation
- Investment costs in planned new nuclear power plants
- EDF’s financial situation
They will be calculated as follows:
- 50% “Taxation tariff” = Total costs of nuclear generation + [€5/MWh; €25/MWh]
- 90% “Capping tariff” = Total costs of nuclear generation + [€35/MWh; €55/MWh]
Observers agree that they will be set at €78/MWh and €110/MWh respectively.
The collected income will be used to finance the electricity price reduction mechanism (VNU) for final consumers, as described below.
2. Price Reduction Mechanism for Suppliers and Customers
The price reduction mechanism that lowers any electricity prices previously agreed between each supplier and their customers:
The price reduction will be uniform for all final consumers, subject to adjustments based on price, time of use, quantities consumed, or consumption profiles, as approved by the European Commission.
Final consumers will benefit directly from this reduction on their electricity invoices, without any commercial intermediation.
This mechanism is managed and monitored by:
- (DGFiP) - (the General Directorate of Public Finances) for the declaration and collection of the tax
- CRE - For assessing income from historical nuclear generation and ensuring suppliers comply with their obligations.
To provide greater visibility to consumers, EDF must submit its projected income from nuclear generation each year, starting from year N-1, to the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE).
Using these projections CRE will estimate the potential discount to be applied to consumers’ invoices during year N. Since actual income may differ from forecasts, retrospective adjustments will be made on the bills.
3. CRE Evaluation of the Nuclear Generation Costs
In accordance with the Energy Code and Article 17 of the 2025 Budget Law, the CRE was tasked with calculating the Total costs of nuclear generation. The CRE submitted its evaluation on 30 September 2025:
- For the period 2026-2028: €60.30/MWh
- For the period 2029-2031: €63.40/MWh
As a reminder, the CRE may review these calculations in three years’ time in accordance with the law.
4. Conclusion
Two major uncertainties remain to date:
- The level of the two thresholds (Taxation and Capping), for which the ministerial orders are expected to be published but which many agree will be set at €78/MWh and €110/MWh respectively,
- The detailed redistribution rules (consumption profile, amount, etc.).
However, it is almost certain that the price reduction for 2026 will be zero or close to zero.
The CRE currently estimates the average sale price of EDF’s nuclear generation for 2026 (approximately 360 TWh) to be around €65.90/MWh.
As the taxation threshold cannot be less than €65.30/MWh, and is likely to be higher based on the latest feedback, this first threshold will not be reached in 2026.
5. Future Regulatory Updates
NUS will update this page as more information becomes available, or please feel free to reach out via NUS Consulting Group SAS if you have questions.
Sources
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGISCTA000051178701
Projet de loi des finances pour 2025 (Texte définitif) : Budget 2025
Délibération de la CRE du 11 juin 2025 portant avis sur le projet de décret pris en application de l’article L.
336-16 du code de l’énergie introduit par l’article 17 de la loi de finances pour 2025