Electricity Bills in Southwest France: Why They’re Heavier Than Elsewhere

When people talk about the price of electricity, they almost always cite a national figure. Yet it masks major differences from one region to another. A study published in late October 2026 shows that electricity bills in Southwest France are among the heaviest in the country, both in euros and relative to residents' incomes. Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers, Lot-et-Garonne, and Dordogne rank near the top, while Landes and Haute-Garonne post the country's sharpest drops in consumption. Here's why.

A Map of Bills No One Had Drawn Before

Published on October 25, 2026 by the website Comparons l'énergie, the study “The True Cost of Electricity in Every Département” draws on an unprecedented combination of three public sources. The first is Enedis, France's electricity grid operator, which publishes consumption data for its 34,229,966 residential meters, here for 2025 and 2019, by département and by municipality. The second is INSEE (the French national statistics institute) and its median standard of living by département (Filosofi 2023). The third is the CRE (the French energy regulation commission), which sets the Tarif Bleu, the regulated electricity rate: under the Base 6 kVA option as of August 1, 2026, that means a €190.81 annual subscription fee plus €0.2001 per kilowatt-hour.

By applying the same rate to each region's average consumption, the study produces a standard bill that can be compared everywhere. It then weighs that bill against local standards of living, yielding a “burden” indicator for electricity. The result takes the form of a ranking of the 94 départements served by Enedis, along with maps, a profile for each département, and a module devoted to individual municipalities. Nationally, the standard bill comes to €1,016 per year for 4,126 kWh consumed per household.

Southwest France Near the Top of the Rankings

With 5,354 kWh per household and a standard bill of €1,262 a year, Tarn-et-Garonne ranks first among the 94 départements, or €246 more than the national average. Its neighbors aren't far behind:

The contrast with the Paris region is striking: a Paris-area household consumes an average of 2,602 kWh, for a standard bill of €711. Between Paris and Tarn-et-Garonne, the gap reaches €551 a year — nearly double.

Houses, Electric Heaters, and Modest Incomes

Three factors explain this ranking. The first is housing type. The rural départements of Southwest France have few apartments: roughly 21% multi-unit housing in Tarn-et-Garonne, 18% in Gers, 15% in Dordogne, compared with a median of about 33% across all départements. A single-family house, which is larger and more exposed to the cold, uses more energy than an apartment surrounded by neighbors.

The second is heating. According to housing data compiled by Enedis, 41% of primary residences in Tarn-et-Garonne and Landes are equipped with electric heating, compared with a median of 27% across all départements. Where electric convector heaters dominate, every winter shows up directly on the meter — hence the growing interest in a heat pump or in properly done attic insulation.

The third factor is income. The median standard of living reaches €24,350 a year in Tarn-et-Garonne (70th out of 94) and €23,730 in Lot-et-Garonne (86th). Relative to these incomes, the standard bill represents 5.2% in the former and 5.0% in the latter, against a départemental median of 4.2%. Tarn-et-Garonne thus combines the highest bill with the heaviest burden in France. The study also finds a correlation of −0.67 between standard of living and bill burden: the more modest a département's income, the more electricity weighs on it. One clarification is needed: this indicator is meant to compare regions with one another; it does not reflect the actual share of household budgets spent on electricity. Still, it sheds light on a context where inflation is already weighing on everyday expenses.

But Also the Sharpest Drops in France

Southwest France isn't just the region with the biggest bills. It's also where consumption has fallen the most since 2019. Landes ranks first with −13.6%, dropping from 5,428 to 4,689 kWh per household, just ahead of Haute-Garonne (−13.5%). On average by département, Occitanie (−10.7%) is the third region to have cut its consumption the most, behind Île-de-France (−11.2%) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (−10.8%).

The explanation ties back to the earlier point: it's electric heating that is declining, through energy-saving habits, insulation, and the replacement of convector heaters. The study finds a correlation of −0.65 between the size of the drop and the share of homes heated with electricity. In Tarn-et-Garonne, consumption fell from 5,986 to 5,354 kWh per household, wiping out €127 from the annual bill at a constant rate. Dordogne (−7.5%) and Lot-et-Garonne (−8.3%), by contrast, cut their consumption less than average.

Montauban and Toulouse, Two Faces of the Same Southwest

The study's municipal-level module allows for a closer look. In Montauban, a household consumes an average of 4,302 kWh, down 10.3% since 2019 — notably less than the département average, a gap likely explained by housing that is denser than in the surrounding countryside. It ranks 20,618th out of the 25,217 municipalities with 100 or more meters.

Toulouse, by contrast, drops to 2,679 kWh per household (24,818th), with a 13.2% decline. As a dense city in a département where more than half of households live in multi-unit housing, it pulls Haute-Garonne's average down, which explains why this département, despite neighboring Tarn-et-Garonne, ranks only 69th for its bill.

What the National Averages Don't Tell You

The study's main contribution is to make visible what the national figure hides. A standard bill of €1,016 means little for a household in Gers heated by electricity, or for a Toulouse resident living in an apartment. By cross-referencing consumption, income, and rates, it shows that the cost of electricity plays out very differently depending on the region, at a time when decisions about the state budget directly affect households.

For more detail, each département has its own profile, listing its most and least energy-hungry municipalities. The full results can be downloaded as two spreadsheet files, one for départements and one for municipalities, and will be updated every year as new Enedis data becomes available.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

• A household is a meter. Second homes and vacant housing are included in the average. In Dordogne and Landes, where they account for roughly one meter in four, the consumption of year-round residents is probably underestimated.
• The standard bill is a benchmark. It does not account for market offers, off-peak hours, the Tempo rate, or power ratings above 6 kVA.
• The scope is limited to Enedis. Corsica and the overseas territories are excluded, and ten départements — none of those mentioned here — are partly served by a local distribution company.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Tarn-et-Garonne have the highest electricity bill?

Because it combines a high proportion of single-family homes, widespread electric heating (41% of primary residences), and an average consumption of 5,354 kWh per household — the highest of the 94 départements covered.

Does the “share of standard of living” reflect household budgets?

No. It measures a household's standard bill against the median standard of living per consumption unit. It is a tool for comparing départements, not a measure of what each household actually spends.

Is consumption also falling in Southwest France?

Yes, sharply. No French département has seen an increase since 2019, and Landes (−13.6%) and Haute-Garonne (−13.5%) record the country's steepest declines.

Sources

• Enedis Open Data: electricity consumption and weather sensitivity by département
• INSEE: Filosofi, standard of living by département
• CRE: open data on regulated rates

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence. Editorial policy