1. Gas prices, the main factor explaining electricity prices on the wholesale market

1.1 Electricity prices historically correlated with fossil fuel prices

In the early days of the electricity adventure, the first electricity producers were often industrialists who wanted to use this electricity for their own needs. Paper manufacturers and chemists, for example, built dams in the Alps to develop their business. Other producers sold this electricity to wealthy customers who found electric lighting far superior to gas lighting (as was the case in certain districts of Paris, for example). At the time, they used coal to produce this electricity. Gradually, local authorities and then the State regulated this activity, using the legal framework of a public service concession. The producer holds a production and distribution monopoly for a certain period (5, 10 or even 30...