According to the energy regulator, historical gas company Engie (ex-GDF SUEZ) has lost 1.5 million customers in five years in France: On 31 March 2015, the company supplied 82% of the 11 million households using gas (more than 9 million customers), corresponding to a loss of 1.5 million customers on the residential segment since 2010. The company now supplies 70% of commercial consumers, representing 42% of gas volumes sold to this segment from 75% in 2010 (100 TWh decrease). Engie is suffering from aggressive offers from alternative suppliers such as Eni or Direct Energie or from collective purchases (households grouped by consumer protection association to purchase gas at lower tariff from Belgian group Lampiris). To offset client loss on the regulated segment, Engie is turning to the liberalised market: the group has taken part to grouped purchases and to public tenders. The group is also seeking to develop its electricity sales to offset its declining position on the gas market: Engie aims to double its customer base from the current 2.3 million to 4.6 million by 2018.
EDF is the largest alternative gas supplier with more than 1 million customers in early 2015 (9.5% of the consumption points) and has won 30.000 additional customers in the first half of 2015. The group is focusing on households (especially in building construction, offering higher tariffs than ENGIE), rather than on commercial customers. Eni entered the French gas market in 2010 after acquiring Altergaz and used its own brand in 2012. The company has a customer portfolio of 460,000 households (target of 500,000 in 2016) and 60,000 commercial.