Just a few hours to go before the starting gun. Starting this Wednesday, November 4, 2026, EDF will begin applying the new off-peak hours to customers on its peak/off-peak plan who have not yet switched over. The rollout will continue through November 30, 2027, and covers all of mainland France, including Paris and the Île-de-France region, from Hauts-de-Seine (92) to Seine-Saint-Denis (93), as well as Yvelines (78) and Seine-et-Marne (77).
The total remains unchanged: you still get 8 off-peak hours a day. What’s changing is when they fall. Since October 13, EDF has been sending notices by mail and email to a new group of customers, as Clubic reports. Have you received yours? Now’s a good time to check the effective date shown on it.
The second wave of the reform began on Sunday, November 1, for customers of all suppliers. EDF, which serves the majority of affected households, scheduled its first switches for Wednesday, November 4, ten days after the change to winter time. Enedis, for its part, places this second phase between December 2026 and October 2027.
There’s no need to panic, though: not everyone switches over at once. Each customer is notified at least a month before their own change takes effect. And there’s no point hoping to avoid it by switching plans: as JeChange points out, Enedis sets the time slots, not your supplier.
The reform was decided by the Energy Regulatory Commission and is being implemented by Enedis, the grid operator. According to the CRE’s frequently asked questions, 14.5 million households have an off-peak hours plan. Of these, 3.5 million already had schedules that comply with the new rules. The change therefore affects around 11 million customers.
A first wave reached 1.7 million households between November 2025 and June 2026. The second, which is now beginning, is much larger, affecting 9.3 million customers.
Some households will not see any changes. EDF customers who have already received new time slots between November 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026, will keep them. The Tempo option retains its off-peak hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., while Corsica and France’s overseas territories remain outside the scope of the reform. Finally, since October 6, 2026, new EDF customers on the off-peak hours option have been given seasonal schedules directly, already in their winter version since November 1.
The big change is that off-peak hours now vary between winter and summer, a bit like the opening hours of a public garden that are extended in fine weather. All year round, you’ll have at least five consecutive off-peak hours at night, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., and no more than three in the afternoon, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
In winter, from November 1 to March 31, all off-peak hours can be grouped together at night, for example from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. For households switching over in the coming weeks, this is often the first schedule to apply, so the afternoon slot may disappear until spring. In summer, from April 1 to October 31, households whose schedules change have at least two off-peak hours in the afternoon, with the rest at night.
The logic is simple. As solar panels become more widespread, electricity is plentiful in the middle of the day when the sun is shining. Enedis estimates that this reform will shift around 5 gigawatts of consumption to sunny afternoons. Time slots are assigned based on the capacity of the local grid, meaning that two neighbors in the same Paris apartment building may have different schedules.
First, check your current time slots on your latest bill or in your customer account. According to EDF’s guide to the new off-peak hours, your schedule will change if it includes a slot between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. or between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.
In detail, the CRE decision of February 4, 2026 removes the 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. time slots from off-peak hours in winter, followed by the 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. slots in summer. Off-peak hours starting at 9 p.m. will therefore change only in summer.
EDF’s letter lists two time slots, one for summer and one for winter, along with an effective date, Selectra explains. Our advice: note your current time slots now, then check your customer account the day after the date shown. The change is made remotely on the Linky meter, with no need for anyone to visit your home.
The reform shifts the time slots, not the prices. Under EDF’s regulated tariff, the price per kilowatt-hour during off-peak hours has remained at 15.89 cents since August 1, 2026. The real pitfall lies elsewhere: an appliance still set to the old schedule will use electricity during peak hours, which are 20 to 30% more expensive, depending on the plan.
It’s also a good time to review your bills. According to the practical guide from France’s national energy ombudsman, the off-peak option is still worthwhile if at least a quarter of your consumption falls during those periods. If you find that kilowatt-hours are being billed at peak rates during a period listed as off-peak, the first step is to file a written complaint with your supplier.
The hot water tank is often the easiest to manage. If it is connected to the meter via the dry contact, the small relay that switches it on at the start of off-peak hours, it will automatically follow the new time slots. If it relies on a timer or a programmable socket, you’ll need to reset it manually on the day of the change.
For the washing machine and dishwasher with a delayed start, it all comes down to your new schedule. This winter, starting them after 11 p.m. remains a safe bet in most cases. Come summer, the afternoon slot will become a genuine option, especially for remote workers. EDF even cites the example of a load started at around 2 p.m., with the laundry then drying in the sun.
When it comes to charging an electric car, check your charging point or vehicle’s schedule as soon as you receive the letter. The five consecutive hours guaranteed overnight are enough for many everyday charging needs. The same goes for programmable thermostats and heaters, which are in heavy use at the start of the cold season.
Our tip: save your winter and summer time slots in your phone and set a reminder for April 1, 2027, when the summer time slots come back into effect. Off-peak hours aren’t the only change this month: gas, the winter moratorium on evictions and parcels—we’ve rounded everything up in our article on what changes on November 1, 2026. For the rest of the week, including the Thursday, November 5 strike, keep an eye on our events and news for the week of November 2–8 and our November 2026 guide to Paris.
Official website
particulier.edf.fr
