The transmission and distribution of electricity in mainland France are regulated activities.They are carried out by RTE and by Enedis, grid operators which are managed totally independently, within the meaning of the provisions of the FrenchEnergy Code.
Created on 1 July 2000 and a subsidiary since 1 September 2005, the Electricity Transmission Network (RTE) is the owner and operator of the French electricity transmission network, which it operates, maintains and develops. With 105,000 kilometres of high and extra high voltage circuits and 50 cross-border lines, this is continental Europe’s largest network. Its geographical location places it at the core of the European electricity market. RTE guarantees the correct operation and safety of the electricity system, and provides free and fair access to all the network users. The company also pays special attention to supporting the development of renewable sources of energy in France and their integration into the electricity system, which requires the development of the transmission network and interconnections.
RTE is indirectly owned (50.1%) by EDF (via CTE) at 31 December 2019. Due to its specific conditions of governance, RTE is not fully consolidated by the Group, but rather accounted for using the equity method.
CTE is a public limited company (société anonyme) with a Board of Directors, owned by EDF (50.1%), Caisse des dépôts et Consignations (29.9%) and CNP Assurances (20%). CTE holds 100% of the share capital of RTE.
In accordance with its articles of association, the sole purpose of CTE is the acquisition and holding of RTE shares, and more generally, all commercial, financial, intangible and tangible property transactions relating directly or indirectly to its corporate purpose or which might facilitate its achievement or stimulate business growth.
The eight members of CTE’s Board of Directors include four EDF representatives, two Caisse des dépôts et Consignations representatives and two CNP Assurances representatives. They are appointed for six years. RTE’s compliance auditor also attends meetings of CTE’s Board of Directors.
RTE is a public limited company (société anonyme) with both a Supervisory Board and an Executive Board.
RTE’s Supervisory Board is comprised of twelve members appointed for five years:
A Government Commissioner attends Supervisory Board meetings in a consultative capacity.
An Auditor General (CGEFi), appointed by an official French Order, also attends the meetings of the Supervisory Board, in application of French Decree no. 2018-580 of 4 July 2018 relating to RTE Réseau de transport d’életricité being subject to the economic and financial control of the French State.
A Compliance Auditor General attends the meetings of RTE Supervisory Board, in application of Article L. 111-35 of the French Energy Code.
RTE’s Executive Board is made up of five members, who perform their work under the supervision of the Supervisory Board, within the limits fixed by the French Energy Code and RTE’s articles of association. After the consent of the Energy Minister, the Supervisory Board appoints the Chairman of the Executive Board and upon theatre’s proposal, it appoints the other members of the Executive Board.
In France, RTE manages the public transmission network and carries out its mission under the conditions set out in model specifications approved by applicable decree until 2051. In accordance with the French Energy Code, transmission network operators must be certified according to a process associating the CRE and the European Commission, which aims to ensure that the entity concerned fulfils the conditions of independence set out by this Code. RTE obtained certification from the CRE in 2012 as an ITO (Independent Transmission Operator). Following the change inits share ownership, RTE maintained its certified status following a CRE decision dated 11 January 2018.
Thus RTE manages the transmission infrastructure, guarantees access to the transmission network and manages energy flows.
RTE faces a variety of challenges in its mission as an electricity transmission network operator: integration of the European market, extensive restructuring of the generation fleet, societal changes reinforcing the constraints of integrating new infrastructure of general interest and maintenance of its industrial facilities to meet the requirements of customers and the community.
RTE manages the assets of the transmission network through maintenance, refurbishment and replacement of structures and emergency repairs.
The gradual integration of new technologies, in particular monitoring, will make it possible to optimise technical policy and to develop conditional and predictive maintenance, further enhancing the effectiveness of each intervention by limiting action to what is strictly necessary. Digitalisation of the grid and large-scale monitoring will make it possible to carry out remote diagnosis and deploy new maintenance technologies such as drones, 3-D visualisation, and augmented reality. Alongside this, test and simulation software will provide decision support for grid management. Mass data analysis will allow new asset management strategies to be developed, with the potential to achieve a different balance between maintenance, renovation, and renewal.
Energy transition is changing the fundamentals of the French electricity system. In response, RTE is adapting its business to prepare and support these major changes.
RTE draws up an annual investment programme that is submitted to the CRE. In 2019, RTE’s total investments within the scope regulated by the CRE stood at €1,456 million. The main investments relate to the continuation of construction works on two direct current interconnections (“Savoie-Piedmont” between France and Italy and “IFA 2” between France and the UK), the launch of works for the planned reconstruction of the 400,000V Avelin-Gavrelle line between the south of Lille and the north-west of Arras, and the planned connection of the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm.
RTE’s 2020 investment programme approved by the regulator amounts to €1,808 million. In view of contextual changes, in particular those relating to the European integration of markets and energy transition, the 2020 investment programme is characterised by ongoing major investments in grid expansion and renewal, more especially the progress of offshore network development works and major grid adaptation projects, as well as the development and renewal of IT systems and real estate.
In 2019, the Regulated Assets Base (RAB) increased by €127 million, up from €14,313 million as at 1 January 2019 to €14,440 million as at 1 January 2020(1). Asa reminder, RAB is remunerated by the tariff at the weighted average cost of capital of 6.125% before tax on the TURPE 5. This represents RTE’s industrial assets, less any investment subsidies, and is calculated excluding assets under construction (remunerated at 3.7% since 2017 in application of the TURPE 5 Network Access Tariff ruling of 17 November 2016).
(1) Amount to be confirmed by the CRE.
