For the ARENH applications of November 2018, demand from alternative suppliers totalled 132.98TWh excluding EDF subsidiaries, more than the maximum total volume of 100TWh. EDF thus delivered 100TWh in 2019 under the ARENH system for supply to competitors’ final customers. Subscriptions to cover network losses amounted to 20.4TWh.
These applications were made at a time when the ARENH price (which includes a capacity guarantee in its €42/MWh) was competitive in comparison to forward baseload prices for 2019.
No modifications were made to ARENH applications during the May 2019 session, and consequently no changes were made to the ARENH deliveries for 2019 after that session.
In decisions no. 2018-222 of 25 October 2018, no. 2019-090 of 9 May 2019 and no. 2019-237 of 30 October 2019, as required by the Energy Code the CRE set out the method for allocating ARENH volumes when applications exceed the maximum total volume defined for the year concerned (2018 or 2019). These decisions stipulated that if the ARENH was oversubscribed in November 2018, May 2019 or November 2019, curtailment would only apply to new ARENH applications made in the session that exceeded the maximum, and that EDF-controlled subsidiaries’ excess applications would be fully curtailed (this does not apply to network operators). Finally, the decisions stated that EDF-controlled subsidiaries could enter into contracts with the parent company replicating the ARENH system and the terms of supply, particularly the curtailment rate for alternative suppliers. In the method proposed by the CRE in decision no. 2019-028 on the calculation of regulated sales tariffs for electricity, this curtailment mechanism, when applied, makes reference to market prices more influential in determining regulated sales tariffs.
The Energy and Climate law introduced new measures. It raised the ceiling for the ARENH system, initially set at 100TWh, to 150TWh from 1 January 2020, allowing the French government to raise the maximum total volume above 100TWh, and to revise the ARENH price by ministerial decision during a transition period. However, the Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition announced that no change would be made to the ARENH price or volume for 2020.
Against this background, ARENH applications during the November 2019 session for delivery in 2020 totalled 147TWh (excluding applications from EDF subsidiaries). Since the maximum total volume has not been modified, only 100TWh will be supplied and as in the previous year the CRE will determine the curtailment of each supplier’s application.
In January 2020, the French government launched a consultation process concerning the reform of regulation of existing nuclear facilities (ARENH), involving actors from the world of energy (ARENH) (see note 4.1).
There was no significant change in the Group’s scope of consolidation during 2019, apart from the operations presented in notes 3.2.1, 3.4.2, 3.4.5 and 3.4.7.
