Pay Your Household Utility Bills in France

Subscribing to all required utilities

Prior to your moving in, all gas, electricity, water and telephone will have been turned off and you will need to contact the appropriate bodies to have these services reinstated. As far as bills are concerned, you can either pay by cheque or arrange with your bank for direct debits or standing orders.

Water supply

If you live in an apartment building, you may never have to deal with a water company and you will be charged for a fraction of all the water consumed in the building. However if a meter has been installed or if you live in a house, you will receive a half-yearly bill for the amount of water used.

Electricity and gas supply

EDF (Electricité de France) and GDF (Gaz de France) are State-owned monopolies which operate as a single unit, called EGF. You will need to contact a local office to arrange your contract and to choose the type of service you require. You can also ask the advice of an EGF agent (Service Clientèle). Homes in France are wired for 220 volts/50 Hz current. You may need to use adapters or transformers for certain equipment. EGF subscribers are usually billed every two months.

The french telephone system

Telecommunications are mostly handled by the State-owned France Telecom company. All operations concerning your telephone (obtaining a phone line, laying the cables, billing options and payment, special services, etc) can be carried out through the local France Telecom bureau (Agence Commerciale des Télécommunications), or by dialling 14. Teleboutiques of France Telecom are primarily devoted to renting or selling more sophisticated telephones, answering and fax machines. Telephone subscribers are billed every two months. In addition ADSL is freely available, even in rural areas. It is also generally much cheaper and faster than in England.

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