“When we enter a market, we try to add value to it. We knew the French market well and, by analysing its specificities, we realised that we could bring something to the table for a type of customer such as VSEs and SMEs,” Giovanni Caporale, CEO of MET France, told News Tank.
Original article in French: News Tank Energies
“We realized that there really was a before and after the energy crisis. The 2021-2022 crisis caused a real storm on market prices. Even if we are currently regaining stability, the situation is not the same as it was before - prices are more volatile and unpredictable. In this context, we have noticed that this type of customer needs support and advice to allow them to have visibility and anticipation.”
MET Group arrived to the French market at the end of 2023. How do you look back at your first year?
The results are very positive for MET France and MET Group. France is clearly one of the strategic markets for the Group. We entered the market at the end of 2023 through the acquisition of Antargaz's electricity and gas supply customer portfolio. This transaction was not MET's initial objective, but was part of the Group's strategy to develop on the French market with a customer portfolio corresponding well to our target. We are satisfied with the way this integration happened. For six months, we focused on this handover. We worked hand in hand with Antargaz to ensure that all the services that were offered were actually taken over.
Then, we worked on the implementation of our commercial strategy, which is targeted at VSEs and SMEs. We offer a digital approach that allows clients to have access to budget simulations and online contracting tools that are accessible at any time and are very easy to use.
Why did you choose VSEs and SMEs as a target?
MET Group is present in 17 countries. The company's positioning may differ from one country to another. When we enter a market, we try to add value to it. We knew the French market well and by analysing its specificities, we realised that we could bring something to the table for these types of clients, which are VSEs (Very Small Enterprises) and SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). We were already doing this in other European countries with strong similarities to France. We have accompanied our customers in recent years in times when the market was not easy to decode.
We realized that there really was a before and after the energy crisis. The 2021-2022 crisis caused a real storm on the markets. Even if we are currently regaining stability, the situation is not the same as it was before: prices are more volatile and unpredictable. In this context, we have noticed that this type of customer needs support and advice to allow them to have visibility and anticipation.
We can offer them something that has value by providing more transparency, anticipation and management of their budget. These professionals have few resources and time to allocate for their energy management. They therefore need tools to easily have the necessary elements to decide. They don't need to be decided for them — they're used to deciding for their businesses — but we give them the tools to make good decisions.
What do you propose concretely?
On the supply side, we can give them an idea of their budget and we are able to provide them, in real time, with a budget for the coming months. Thus they benefit from visibility not only of energy and subscription prices, but on their energy budget as a whole, because products are more or less impacted by the variation in market prices. We have seen SMEs that were surprised when they concluded their renewal offers because the market had evolved and they had not anticipated the developments. We want to combat this surprise effect by transmitting information beyond the contractual period.
Beyond this supply activity, we propose ways for companies to be a part of their environmental transition. This consists of information on their carbon impact, proposals to green their consumption – for example guarantees of origin and premium supply offers from renewable energy producers – or carbon offsetting options. We are currently working on extending this service offering. The idea is to facilitate actions related to their intention to be actors in the transition. This can therefore be the possibility of thinking about self-consumption, management or consumption shifting.
MET France announced in February 2025 that it had launched an origination activity. What does it involve?
The origination business is something that MET Group wants to offer wherever it operates. Our Group acts on the various links in the energy value chain - trading, marketing and supply, asset production, transport etc. MET therefore has a strong experience in asset management, energy markets and supply management. We want to share this experience locally.
Origination is a tailor-made activity that provides a personalized solution to the problems related to complexity in the energy market. We carry it out in collaboration with the trading desk within the Group.
We have three types of customers. First of all, consumers who have a specific need, for example the need to integrate PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) or to self-consume on their site. They need complex management of their supply and special support. This can be manufacturers who are trying to secure their supply in the long term or to have a specific indexation according to their sector of activity.
Then we have gas or electricity producers who are looking to add value to their production, for example through solutions to enable them to manage a part of the risks related to production and market exposure. We offer them physical or financial solutions to better operate their production site. Finally, there are alternative suppliers who wish to outsource a part of their supply or are looking for resources for fine-tuning of their supply and corresponding risks.
What do you think of the new regulation that will follow ARENH (Regulated Access to Historic Nuclear Electricity) in 2026?
This change in regulation exposes end customers to the markets even more. This is a component that we take into account when supporting our clients. We must focus on popularizing and transmitting the new elements to be taken into consideration in the calculation and management of their energy budget.
For the supply of electricity to our customers, the exposure to the market is stronger, because there will no longer be ARENH’s share. This means that it is even more necessary to anticipate possible market movements. Small businesses need tools to protect themselves against market volatility.
For our part, we will adapt our offers to protect our customers as well as possible. But the best way to protect yourself is to anticipate your choices. There are customers who tend to make their decision at the last minute, so the price depends on when the final decision is made. However, it is possible to secure your budget for years to come, at different times in the year. We recommend that companies work on their target budget for energy.
In addition, there are ways to secure energy for several years in the future. We can also work on longer-term supplies or diversify their supply. These are behaviours that are currently observed especially among large consumers and that will certainly be applied to companies with lower consumption.