Connecting the Electricity in France

To get the electricity connected in France you have no choice but to call them or have someone who speaks French call them for you. My real estate agent offered to call them for me, knowing my French wasn't particularly good at that time. I thought this was so nice of him until 2 months later my electricity was disconnected because he never did it. Thanks to him I spent 3 days in the middle of winter with no electricity. Thankfully I was in Montpellier and it wasn't that cold, but still. I spoke to him a number of times after that and even though he is very friendly, he's a bit vague, a bit of a bimbo, so it's not surprising he forgot such an important thing.

So the moral of the story, if you want something done properly then do it yourself. Especially when real estate agents are involved.

Here's what you need to connect the electricity:

1. The phone number of EDF (the French electricity company). I think this is different for different regions but in Paris it's 0810 30 23 45 or try the EDF website.

2. The current reading on your electricity meter. There are usually 2 numbers.

3. The previous tenant or owner's name of the apartment/house.

4. Your RIB (your bank account number).

They will ask you about your electricity usage such as if you have a washing machine, microwave, electric heating etc, as well as the size of the apartment. They will work out roughly how much you will pay each month and this will be paid by direct debit. They will then work out the difference when they take a reading in 6 months or so.