One Champagne winegrower sees his electric bill treble

When we saw the painful bill, we thought it just couldn’t be possible”, sighs winegrower Christophe Pernet at the helm of Jean Pernet Champagnes, which has 15 hectares under vine in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Marne. Until now, his three-year electricity contract with Engie, which expires on 31 October, cost him 18,000 euros a year. The supplier has offered to renew the contract to the tune of €86,000, a fivefold increase. “If you scale that down to our output, the increase is more than 50 euro cents per bottle for electricity alone”, says Pernet.

Determined to take advantage of competition, he quickly realised that the other energy suppliers were not able to commit themselves. He returned to EDF, which offered him a contract at €55,000/year. Though pleased to have made a saving compared to the first announced increase, his costs have still trebled due to the correlation between electricity and gas prices in Europe. Still reeling from the shock, Christophe Pernet wonders if “winegrowers have really grasped the skyrocketing electricity prices. I don't know... A lot of people are in for a surprise when their contract expires”.

While the price of aluminium for caps and glass bottles continues to rise, Pernet is faced with the issue of how to judiciously pass on the cost increases to his customers. At the beginning of 2023, “there will be a reassessment factoring these elements into the equation. The company must safeguard the profit margins required for it to function properly. Our margins are such that we have no option but to pass on the increases”, says Pernet. The jury is still out on one aspect: “Will consumers accept the rises? We will remain optimistic, but there are concerns”.