Le médiateur national de l'énergie

What Le médiateur national de l'énergie does

Le médiateur national de l'énergie (The French Energy Ombudsman) is a public independent administrative authority established by law n°2006-1537 of December 7, 2006 that provides free mediation and consumer information services to resolve disputes between energy consumers and energy sector companies in France. It serves individual residential consumers, small businesses (under 10 employees and €2M turnover), artisans, shopkeepers, liberal professions, non-profit organisations, small city councils, and condominiums across all energy types including electricity, natural gas, LPG, fuel oil, firewood, and district heating networks. The authority holds legal personality and financial autonomy, with its contact details mandatorily appearing on all electricity and gas bills in France, ensuring universal consumer awareness of the service.

The ombudsman operates two interconnected core platforms: SOLLEN (Solutions en ligne aux litiges d'énergie), a secure online dispute declaration and case management platform accessible at sollen.fr where consumers submit complaints, track case files, and interact with the mediator and energy companies; and Energie-Info, a comprehensive consumer information service accessible via a toll-free hotline (0800 112 212) and the energie-info.fr website that provides practical tips, rights information, an independent price comparison tool for electricity and natural gas offers, calculators, and downloadable factsheets. In 2025, the service recorded 28,071 disputes, issued 6,812 recommendations and amicable agreements, and informed more than 3.7 million consumers through its websites and call centre, with operators paying over €10.5 million in consumer compensation and refunds in a single year.

The institution is financed entirely by the French State, with an annual operational budget of €5.1 million supporting 46 agents (as reported in the 2025 annual report). Beyond dispute resolution, the ombudsman publishes an annual activity report, more than 500 generic recommendations addressing recurring market dysfunctions, and a jurisprudence database, while formally proposing legislative and regulatory improvements to parliament and government. It maintains conventions with the internal ombudsmen of EDF and ENGIE groups to structure dispute pathways, is approved by the Commission for the Evaluation and Monitoring of Consumer Mediation (CEMPC), and is referenced on the European Commission consumer redress platform for cross-border visibility.

Name

Le médiateur national de l'énergie

Legal name

Médiateur national de l'énergie

Website

https://energie-mediateur.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Le médiateur national de l'énergie is a French public independent authority providing free mediation and consumer information services to resolve disputes between residential consumers, small businesses, and energy companies across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

La Défense (Paris)

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. State Budget Funding: The mediator's financing is carried out by the State. Its budget, which is part of the finance act (budget de l'Etat), is adopted by the ministers in charge of economy, energy and consumption. The service is free for consumers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Le médiateur national de l'énergie provides free, independent mediation services to resolve disputes between French energy consumers and energy sector companies (electricity, natural gas, LPG, fuel oil, firewood, district heating). It also operates the Energie-Info consumer information service via a toll-free hotline and website, and the SOLLEN online platform for submitting and tracking complaints. All services are delivered free of charge to eligible consumers and small professional users, and funded by the French State.

Product overview

Le médiateur national de l'énergie operates as a public independent authority offering two interconnected core services: (1) a dispute mediation service helping consumers resolve conflicts with energy sector companies through SOLLEN, an online case management platform, and (2) the Energie-Info information service providing consumer guidance via a call centre and website with practical tools including an independent energy offer comparator. The organization also publishes recommendations (both case-specific and generic) and maintains a jurisprudence database. All services are free for consumers and financed by the state budget.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Energy Ombudsman Mediation Service Free, independent mediation service that proposes amicable solutions to disputes between French energy consumers and energy sector companies (electricity, natural gas, LPG, fuel oil, district heating, firewood). Operates as a public independent authority under French law, with universal mandate referenced on all energy bills in France.
• Energie-Info Information Service Consumer information service comprising a free toll-free phone hotline (0800 112 212) and the energie-info.fr website. Provides practical tips, consumer rights information, online price comparison tools, calculators, supplier listings, and downloadable factsheets for electricity and gas consumers in France.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.7 million consumers informed in 2025 via websites and toll-free number, a 3% year-on-year increase
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Commission for the Evaluation and Monitoring of Consumer Mediation (CEMPC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015The mediator is approved by the CEMPC, which evaluates the activity of consumer ombudsmen and monitors compliance with consumer code provisions on mediation. This approval enables the mediator to be referenced on the official consumer mediation platform.
• European Commission Consumer Redress PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015The mediator is referenced on the European Commission's dedicated consumer redress website (consumer-redress.ec.europa.eu), expanding its reach to EU-level oversight and cross-border consumers.
• European Centre of ConsumptionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe European Centre of Consumption has set up a website in French dedicated to consumption mediation, which the ombudsman encourages consumers to visit as a resource for cross-border disputes.
• Consumer Associations (AFOC, UFC Que Choisir, CLCV, and others)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsumer associations are referenced as useful contacts on the mediator's website (Liens utiles page). These associations, including UFC Que Choisir, CLCV, AFOC, and others, represent consumer interests and may refer consumers to the ombudsman. A full list of 14 consumer associations is provided.
• Internal Ombudsmen of EDF and ENGIE GroupscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe mediator maintains a convention with the internal ombudsmen of EDF and ENGIE groups, defining procedures for handling disputes and avoiding duplication. This partnership structures the consumer dispute resolution pathway in France's energy sector.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Médiateur des communications électroniques (ARCEP, France): French regulator's consumer dispute resolution function for the electronic communications sector. Uses a parallel French public-authority model with an online dispute platform, making it closely comparable in institutional design and consumer mediation workflow.
• Ombudsman Services: Energy (UK): UK's free, statutory energy dispute resolution body for domestic and small business consumers. Operates the same core function — independent mediation between energy consumers and suppliers — under a different legal framework, making it the most directly comparable international peer.
• Médiateur du Groupe EDF: Internal ombudsman of EDF, France's largest electricity supplier. Operates the first tier of energy dispute resolution that consumers must typically exhaust before reaching the national mediator, making it a directly comparable in-sector dispute resolution peer with overlapping case flow.
• Médiateur de l'assurance (LMA): France's insurance ombudsman, operating an analogous statutory, state-recognized consumer mediation model for the insurance sector. Closely comparable in legal mandate, free-to-consumer model, public authority status, and operational structure — only the regulated sector (insurance vs. energy) differs.
• Médiateur ENGIE: Internal ombudsman of ENGIE, one of France's main gas and electricity suppliers. Functionally linked to the national mediator by convention and handles comparable energy-sector consumer disputes, making it a directly comparable peer in the same industry.

Others

• European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net): EU-funded network that helps consumers resolve cross-border disputes, including energy contracts. The French national mediator is referenced on this infrastructure, making it a complementary ecosystem peer rather than a competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Ofgem: UK's energy regulator with both market oversight and consumer protection duties. Comparable as a national energy authority, though it operates under a wider regulatory mandate than the French ombudsman's mediation focus.
• ARERA (Italy): Italy's Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment, combining market regulation with consumer protection functions. Comparable as a peer national energy regulator with consumer dispute responsibilities, though structurally broader than the French ombudsman.
• Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE): France's independent energy regulator overseeing electricity and gas markets. Shares the public independent authority status and French energy sector mandate but covers broader market regulation rather than individual consumer mediation — a complementary regulatory peer.

Regional players

• Service de Médiation pour l'Énergie (Belgium): Belgium's federal energy ombudsman, providing free consumer mediation in gas and electricity across Belgian regions. Same core function as the French mediator, but operating under Belgian federal/regional regulatory framework rather than the French Code de l'énergie.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mediateur-national-de-lenergie

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Le médiateur national de l'énergie