Pursuant to Article L. 341-3 of the French Energy Code, the tariff for using the public electricity transmission network is set by way of a reasoned decision by the CRE, which defines the framework, structure, and level thereof.
TURPE 6 HTB was set by a CRE decision dated 21 January 2021, which was published in the French Official Journal on 23 April 2021. This new tariff entered into force on 1 August 2021 for a period of four years, with an initial increase of 1.09%. Over the 2021-2024 tariff period, the decision provides for an average increase of 1.57% annually (based on the scenario of average inflation of 1.07% over the period). The financial return of RTE assets is the result of the product of the regulated asset base (RAB) and a nominal rate before tax. For the 2021-2024 tariff period, the tariff decision set the rate of return at 4.6%. On 1 January 2022, the RAB totalled €15.1 billion (1). The value of the RAB includes RTE’s commissioned industrial assets, minus investment subsidies, and is calculated excluding assets under construction (which are remunerated at the debt rate, i.e., 2.4% as from 2021 pursuant to the TURPE 6 tariff) (see note 5.1.1 “Regulatory change in France” in the notes to the Group’s consolidated financial statements in section 6.1).
RTE manages the assets of the transmission network through maintenance, refurbishment or replacement of structures and emergency repairs.
The gradual integration of new technologies, in particular monitoring, makes it possible to optimise technical policies and to develop conditional and predictive maintenance, which further enhances the effectiveness of each intervention by limiting action to what is strictly necessary. Digitalisation of the grid and large-scale monitoring 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 provide decision support for grid management. Massive data analysis will allow new asset management strategies to be developed, with the potential to achieve different balances between maintenance, renovation, and renewal.
Energy transition is modifying the fundamentals of the French electricity system. In response, RTE is adapting its business in order to prepare for and support these major changes.
Each year, RTE draws up an annual investment programme that is submitted to the CRE for approval. In 2021, RTE’s total investments within the scope regulated by the CRE amounted to €1,578 million. The main investments relate to:
Over the period 2021-2025, RTE is planning a continual increase of its investment programme (+50% over four years). This reflects, in particular, the implementation of the trajectory presented in the ten-year plan for development of the network (Schéma décennal de développement du réseau, SDDR) to contribute to meeting the European climate goals and support energy transition, as well as the changes arising from EU market integration. The programme is characterised by ongoing major investments in the expansion and renewal of the network, and of the IT systems and real estate.
The following are primarily concerned:
As an infrastructure manager, RTE is supporting these changes in the French energy mix and updating its practices, in order to enhance its performance. RTE’s 2022 investment programme, which was approved by the CRE amounts to €1,857.2 million.
The operating procedures for the electricity system and for the management of market mechanisms (including the management of interconnections), and the coordination of networks in Europe are organised in accordance with the European legislative and regulatory texts (network codes, Clean Energy Package, etc.).
RTE manages the flows on the transmission network in real time. It makes use of the resources available to it through the adjustment mechanism to ensure the balance between supply and demand in real time. The cost that corresponds to the adjustments made by RTE and due to the negative differences between the projected flows and those already realised is passed on to the “balance responsible entities” (producers, traders, suppliers, etc.) in proportion to their difference. In the case of a positive difference, RTE compensates the balance responsible entities financially.
RTE manages access to international interconnections in collaboration with the neighbouring European transmission network operators. These interconnections ensure the transmission of energy from one country to another, the operating safety of the electricity transmission networks and the development of the European electricity market. They ensure that electricity market players can sell and purchase energy in another European country, by taking advantage of the price differences on either side of the border, and can better pool the means of generation at the European level (including renewable energies).
The regulatory texts also define the services that Coordination Centres will provide to the transmission system operators, within a harmonised framework and by implementing complementary and robust terms and conditions of supply between them. The first five services, the complete implementation of which is pending, concern the design of shared network models, capacity calculations, security analyses, the coordination of structure removals and the assessment of the extent to which supply matches demand. The Clean Energy Package includes a list of 16 additional services (ex post analyses, regional sizing of reserves, training, etc.) for which the network operators and Coordination Centres are currently designing common methodologies prior to implementation. The first such methodologies will be implemented as from mid-2022.
(1) Amount to be confirmed by the CRE.
