Gas tariff zones: what are they for and what impact do they have on your bill?

Have you subscribed to a natural gas contract? Did you know that the price per kWh varies depending on where you live? Indeed, your bill will not show exactly the same amount for the same level of consumption if you live in the north or the south of France. Why? Because there are six different tariff zones in France. Let’s explain.

What is a tariff zone?

In France, unlike electricity, the price per kWh (kilowatt-hour) of natural gas varies depending on the customer’s place of residence. Tariff zones (also called GRDF zones) are therefore applied to account for variations in natural gas transportation costs depending on the city.

Indeed, depending on the distance between a home and a gas exchange point (PEG), transportation costs are higher or lower. In other words, the further the consumption point is from storage facilities and/or the more difficult it is to access, the higher the transport costs. This is why network operators (GRDF) and transmission operators (Natran and Teréga), who bear these costs, pass them on proportionally to the price per kWh of natural gas.

There are 6 tariff zones, defined several decades ago when Gaz de France organised the gas distribution network, classifying the 9,200 municipalities served in France. Note that all towns located at an equal distance from a storage point are classified in the same zone (1 to 6). Thus, zone 1 applies to all municipalities closest to gas exchange points and benefits from the lowest prices. Conversely, zone 6 has the highest tariffs, as it includes the most difficult-to-access locations.

This classification has an indirect effect on how gas prices per kWh are set. Although the price is determined by the supplier, it relies on this zoning to establish its pricing grids.

Why are tariff zones applied in France?

Dividing the national territory into 6 distinct zones aims to ensure efficient organisation of the distribution network. It also reflects variations in natural gas transportation costs depending on the customer’s location.

Several gas transport routes may be used to bring gas to end consumers. Pipelines or LNG carriers transport gas from production sites to France’s borders, while the national pipeline system enables gas to be transported from storage points to final consumption locations.

However, operating and maintaining these infrastructures generates costs. These costs are passed on by network operators to users of transmission and distribution networks, in other words to energy suppliers. This is known as network usage fees, which vary depending on how accessible the final consumption location is.

Under this system, it is clear that transportation costs are not the same when supplying Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice or Paris. While Marseille is close to major gas routes and storage facilities, more remote or hard-to-reach areas such as mountainous regions are more expensive to supply. Tariff zones were therefore created to reflect these differences.

These additional costs are then passed on by suppliers to gas bills: they are therefore indirectly borne by consumers depending on their zone.

What are the different zones in France?

As mentioned above, there are six tariff zones in France. Major French cities are distributed as follows:

• Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, Lille, Laval, Tours, Nîmes, Rouen and Troyes are in Zone 1 (as well as 2,920 municipalities);

• Paris, Rennes, Caen, Limoges, Toulon, Brest, Poitiers and Amiens are in Zone 2 (1,990 municipalities);

• Nice, Perpignan, Chartres are in Zone 3 (1,561 municipalities);

• Gap, Paimpol, Bourseul are in Zone 4 (993 municipalities);

• Aurillac, Pornic, Albertville are in Zone 5 (623 municipalities);

• Maroilles, Villeroy, Beaumont are in Zone 6 (1,334 municipalities).

Which tariff zone do you belong to?

To find out your natural gas tariff zone, simply check your bill. If you do not have it at hand, you can easily find this information online. ENGIE also offers a natural gas consumption simulator that allows you to estimate your bill based on your tariff zone. It is worth noting that some gas suppliers, including ENGIE, have introduced their own tariff zones to more precisely reflect actual transportation costs.

What are the prices across different zones?

As you can see, the price per kWh of natural gas varies depending on the tariff zone. Between zone 1 and zone 6, prices differ by around 6%.

This increase is gradual. Zone 2 is about 2% more expensive than zone 1, zone 3 is 3% more expensive than zone 1, and so on up to zone 6.

As a result, consumers living in Lyon, Marseille or Lille (zone 1) benefit from a more advantageous gas price per kWh than those living in Maroilles, Villeroy or Beaumont (zone 6).

Please note that this price variation only applies to consumption and does not affect the price of your subscription.

Tariff zones do not apply to all gas consumers

It is important to note that small gas consumers are not affected by tariff zones. Thus, consumption below 6,000 kWh per year, corresponding to gas used only for cooking and/or hot water, is not subject to this zoning. Prices per kWh are therefore the same across France for this category of consumers.

In other words, only households that use gas for heating are affected by these price variations.