Complaint to an electricity, gas or water supplier (France)

Consumer
Français
France
Complaint & Appeal
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This document is in French

The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.

For a household customer in France disputing a bill, a meter reading or estimate, a cut-off, a price change or a connection with their electricity or gas supplier or water service. The written complaint is the required step before mediation: if there is no solution within two months, you can go free of charge, within a year of the complaint, to the national energy ombudsman (Médiateur national de l'énergie) or the water mediation service (Médiation de l'eau). The letter gives your supply point number (PDL, PCE) or meter. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt or through the customer account.

  • Made for use in France
  • Last updated October 13, 2026

When to use this document

  • Your electricity or gas bill in France is far higher than usual and based on an estimate.
  • Your supplier has cut off, or is threatening to cut off, your gas or electricity.
  • Your water service is billing you for a meter reading you dispute.
  • You want to complain in writing to your energy supplier before going to the energy ombudsman.

What you fill in

The details the document asks for.

  • Customer
  • Customer's address
  • Electricity or gas supplier, or water service
  • Postal address for complaints (from the bill)
  • City
  • Date
  • Client number
  • PDL/PRM, PCE or water meter number
  • Electricity, gas or water
  • Address of the home supplied
  • What the complaint is about
  • Remedy requested

Preview

This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.

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Common questions

When can France's national energy ombudsman be brought in?
After a written complaint to your supplier or the network operator has gone unanswered or unresolved for two months, and no later than a year after that complaint. Referral is free, online on the ombudsman's website or by post, with a copy of your complaint and the bills. The ombudsman makes a recommendation, which the supplier does not have to follow; you keep the right to go to court. The energie-info.fr site answers consumers' questions free of charge.
Which mediator handles a dispute with the water service in France?
The Médiation de l'eau, if your water or sewerage service is a member or has an agreement with it; its details are on the bill or in the service rules. It is free. Write to the service first, which has two months to answer; without a satisfactory answer, refer the matter within a year of your written complaint, with a copy of it, any answer received and your bill.
Where is the PDL, PRM or PCE number for an energy complaint in France?
On your electricity or gas bill, or in your customer account. PDL and PRM are the same 14-digit number identifying your electricity supply point; the PCE, also 14 digits, identifies your gas metering point. They belong to the home, not the person. For water, give the meter number shown on the bill. These numbers let the supplier find your file without error.

How you can sign this document

  • Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
  • Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked

DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.

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