5th period of the French Energy Savings Certificates Scheme (2022-2025):
Decree 2021-712 on the fifth period of the energy savings certificates scheme (2022-2025) was published in the Journal officiel of 5 June 2021. The decree makes the scheme more effective (for example by significantly reducing special measures and bringing calculations close to the real savings), increases funding for very vulnerable households (higher obligations intended to benefit households in situations of energy poverty, restriction of the scope to very vulnerable households, an increase in the penalties in this category to €20/MWhc) and encourages development of carbon-free energies:
The ARENH scheme for regulated access to historic nuclear power, set up in 2011, allows alternative suppliers to purchase electricity from EDF to supply their final customers, after signing a framework agreement, at a regulated price for set quantities determined under the provisions of the French Energy Code. This scheme is also open to network operators to cover their energy losses.
The ARENH price, determined by the Ministers for Energy and the Economy following a proposal by the CRE, has been fixed at €42/MWh since January 2012. This includes delivery of the electricity and has incorporated the associated capacity guarantees since 2017.
The maximum total volume that can be sold under the ARENH scheme to suppliers who apply to the scheme to cover the needs of their final customers is set at 100TWh per year (see note 41).
In decision 2021-339 of 8 November 2021, as required by the Energy Code, the CRE set out the method for allocating ARENH volumes if applications exceed the maximum total volume defined for 2022. In view of the current exceptional crisis in the electricity market, it also introduced reinforced checks and special rules for accepting the ARENH volumes applied for by suppliers.
The CRE stated that EDF-controlled subsidiaries’ excess applications would be fully curtailed (this does not apply to network operators) and they could enter into contracts with the parent company that replicate the ARENH scheme and terms of supply, particularly the curtailment rate for alternative suppliers.
The Energy and Climate law of 8 November 2019 introduced new measures. It raised the initial 100TWh ceiling for ARENH sales to 150TWh from 1 January 2020, allowing the French government to raise the maximum total volume of ARENH deliveries above 100TWh by ministerial order, and to revise the ARENH price by ministerial order during a transition period (see note 41).
ARENH applications during the November 2021 session for delivery in 2022 totalled 160.36TWh (excluding applications from EDF subsidiaries and network operators). The CRE scaled down certain applications (- 0.03TWh in total), bringing the total application volumes validated by the CRE to 160.33TWh, and curtailed each supplier’s application. Further volumes were also sold by EDF to its subsidiaries through contracts that replicate the ARENH scheme, and to compensate for network electricity losses (26.4TWh).
Litigation relating to the ARENH scheme was also instigated in 2020 by some energy suppliers in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Details are provided in note 37.
As announced in the draft multi-year energy programme (PPE) published on 25 January 2019, in January 2020 the French government launched a call for contributions regarding the fundamental findings driving the plan to reform the economic regulations for existing nuclear facilities, and its construction and operating principles. The proposed new regulations would replace the ARENH scheme. Like many other actors in the sector, the EDF group participated in this consultation, which ended on 17 March 2020.
France’s Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition and Minister of the Economy and Finance then commissioned the CRE to carry out an assessment of the costs borne by the nuclear operator, and to determine fair remuneration for its nuclear activities under the government’s potential future regulations for existing nuclear facilities. There were no significant developments in 2021 concerning the terms and conditions of these potential new regulations.
Sales are comprised of:
| (in millions of euros) | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Sales of energy* | Sales of energy*202150,390 | Sales of energy*202041,692 |
| electricity | electricity 202142,906 |
electricity 202037,456 |
| gas | gas 20217,484 |
gas 20204,236 |
| Sales of services and other | Sales of services and other20212,611 | Sales of services and other20202,623 |
| SALES | SALES202153,001 | SALES202044,315 |
*Including a share of delivery costs for sales of electricity and gas.
The variation in electricity sales in 2021 is mainly due to:
the 25.3TWh increase in nuclear power output, an effect largely associated with the Covid-19 pandemic which had led to significant modulation of generation in 2020,
colder weather in 2021 than 2020;
The increase in sales is also explained by favourable price effects on market offers and sales at regulated tariffs. For the regulated tariffs, the price effect results from indexing of tariffs from 1 February 2020 (+3.0% on “blue” tariffs for residential customers and +3.1% on “blue” tariffs for non-residential customers), 1 August 2020 (+1.82% on “blue” tariffs for residential customers and +1.81% on “blue” tariffs for non-residential customers), 1 February 2021 (+1.93% on “blue” tariffs for residential customers and +3.23% on “blue” tariffs for non-residential customers) and 1 August 2021 (+1.08% on “blue” tariffs for residential customers and +0.84% on “blue” tariffs for non-residential customers).
The increase in gas sales principally relates to sales with EDF Trading in a context of substantial rises in market prices in 2021.
