Distribution activities on French soil are, pursuant to the legal framework, almost exclusively conducted by Enedis, a French public limited company (société anonyme) with an Executive Board and a Supervisory Board responsible for the management of the public electricity distribution network.
Pursuant to Directive no. 2003/54/EC, the principles of which are applied in Directiveno. 2009/72/EC of 13 July 2009 and Directive no. 2019/944 of 5 June 2019, when the public distribution network operator is part of a vertically integrated company, its organisation and decision-making must be legally independent from other activities not related to distribution. Within this framework, the principle adopted by EDF and Gaz de France, now Engie, led them to spin out their distribution network. Enedisand GRDF share a “common service” pursuant to the legal framework (see section 1.4.4.2.3 “Service shared by Enedis and GRDF”).
Pursuant to the Law of 9 August 2004, the business of public electricity distribution network operator was turned into a subsidiary in 2007.
The Supervisory Board of Enedis comprises fifteen members, of which eight are appointed by the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, five are representatives of the employees elected in accordance with the conditions set out in Law no. 83–675 dated 26 July 1983 relating to the democratisation of the public sector, one member is appointed by the French State by virtue of Articles 4 or 6 of Ordinance No. 2014-948 dated 20 August 2014, and one member, representing the organising authorities for the public electricity distribution network, is appointed by decree in application of Article 153 of Law no. 2015-992 relating to energy transition for green growth. In 2019, the Enedis Executive Board was made up of two members who performed their work under the supervision of the Supervisory Board. In application of the possibility offered by Ordinance no. 2014-948 dated 20 August 2014 (Article 15) and in compliance with Decree no. 2015-38 dated 19 January 2015, the French State appointed by a Decree dated 25 October 2018 a Government Commissioner for the purposes of attending the meetings of the Supervisory Board of Enedis. On 1 June 2016, the business name of the public distribution network operator was changed to Enedis, as a replacement for ERDF. This new name reflects the company’s strong commitment to the energy transition in the wake of COP 21. It will also raise the profile of the network operator and clarify its purpose, as the CRE recommended.
Enedis, pursuant to the conditions set by law and the concession contracts signed with each of the public electricity distribution contracting authorities (see section 1.4.4.2.2 “Distribution activities”), performs its missions as the public distribution network operator in mainland France.
These missions are:
Enedis’ business is based on a number of activities: manage, in its capacity as the concession holder, the assets under concession; run and maintain the network in such a way as to ensure the continuity of supply; carry out work on the network (in particular, network connection, reinforcement and renewal work); provide access to the network to all users in the framework of contractual provisions in force; andmanage the meter fleet, as well as obtaining, processing and transmitting data on network user consumption.
In 2019, €4,254 million was invested by Enedis, €1,623 million of which was devoted to connections (consumers and producers) and adjusting the grid to the load, while €2,266 million was devoted to quality of service, securing networks, safety, protecting the environment, and rolling out Linky meters, all areas in which the identified expectations of customers, local authorities, and concession contracting authorities are particularly high.
In addition, the contracting authorities invested €725 million in 2019. In all, almost €4,979 million were invested on the distribution networks in 2019 in mainland France.
GROSS INVESTMENTS MADE BY ENEDIS
| (in millions of euros) | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Connections and reinforcement | Connections and reinforcement 20191,623 | Connections and reinforcement 20181,464 |
| Regulatory, safety and transmission channel obligations | Regulatory, safety and transmission channel obligations 2019445 | Regulatory, safety and transmission channel obligations 2018415 |
| Work instruments and operational resources | Work instruments and operational resources 2019365 | Work instruments and operational resources 2018347 |
| Network modernisation(1) | Network modernisation (1)20191,821 | Network modernisation (1)20181,772 |
| TOTAL INVESTMENTS OF ENEDIS | TOTAL INVESTMENTS OF ENEDIS20194,254 | TOTAL INVESTMENTS OF ENEDIS20183,998 |
| WORK ALLOWANCES BY THIRD PARTIES AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES(2) | WORK ALLOWANCES BY THIRD PARTIES AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES(2)2019725 | WORK ALLOWANCES BY THIRD PARTIES AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES(2)2018705 |
| TOTAL NETWORK INVESTMENTS | TOTAL NETWORK INVESTMENTS20194,979 | TOTAL NETWORK INVESTMENTS20184,703 |
(1) Of which Linky: €822 million in 2019, €792 million in 2018 and €612 million in 2017 (generalisation costs and those related to post experimentation).
(2) After deducting PCT(a) and Article 8(b) for the share funded by Enedis.
(a) PCT (portion covered by the tariff): portion paid to project manager contractors from the contributions to the delivery tariff for financing a connection.
(b) Article 8 of Appendix 1 of the concession specifications relating to the integration of works into the environment (for example, the work
to bury lines).
