Universal Registration Document 2022

Introduction

1.4.4.1.2 RTE’s activities

In France, RTE manages the public transmission network and the balance between electricity supply and demand. It carries out its missions under the conditions set out in standard specifications, which were approved by a decree that is applicable until 2051.

RTE thus manages the transmission infrastructure, guarantees access to the transmission network and manages energy flows to ensure the balance of the energy system.

RTE has to address various challenges in its mission as an electricity transmission network operator:

  • integration of the European market;
  • extensive restructuring of the generating fleet;
  • societal changes that increase the pressure to integrate new infrastructures of general interest; and
  • maintenance of its industrial facilities to meet the requirements of customers and of the community at large.
Publication of the prospective study on the functioning of the electricity system

Since 14 September 2022, every month until the end of winter, RTE publishes its annual and projected study on the functioning of the electricity system for the entire autumn and winter period. In an uncertain, unprecedented context linked to the energy crisis, RTE has implemented increased monitoring during this period. The study, entitled “Prospects for the Electricity System for Autumn and Winter 2022- 2023”, is based on continually updated generation and consumption scenarios. These include, in particular, weather forecasts and information on the availability of the electricity generation fleet.

The Ecowatt system

Out of all the parameters analysed in the study, energy consumption management is a key lever that will make it possible to improve supply security in the short term. To this end, RTE has launched a new tool for monitoring weekly electricity consumption. The EcoWatt system is designed to alert individuals, businesses and local authorities ahead of time, so that they can organise themselves and adopt appropriate eco-gestures in order to decrease their electricity consumption (in particular when the red EcoWatt alert is activated due to significant load and a risk of outages).

Regulatory notice

Certification by RTE

In accordance with the French Energy Code, transmission network operators must be certified according to a process that associates the CRE and the European Commission. It aims to ensure that the entity concerned meets the independence requirements for undertakings that engage in deregulated activities. RTE obtained certification from the CRE in 2012 and on 11 January 2018 (after of change of shareholder) as an ITO (Independent Transmission Operator). This certification was confirmed by the CRE decision of 2  July 2020, following the reorganisation of the CDC’s shareholdings.

Tariffs for Using the Public Electricity transmission and distribution Networks (TURPE)

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. TURPE 6 determines:

  • the resources available to RTE for the execution of its missions;
  • the network use tariffs, which change each year according to inflation and the costs of managing the electricity system;
  • the regulatory framework that is applicable to RTE and, in particular, the financial return on its assets, which is calculated by multiplying 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 2023, the RAB totalled €15.6 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 also note 5.1.1 “Regulatory change in France” in the notes to the Group’s consolidated financial statements in section 6.1.

At a time when the wholesale prices of electricity in Europe were increasing sharply and becoming highly volatile, two developments were brought to the CRE’s attention in 2022:

  • the first concerns the existence of a revenue surplus in connection with the access duties paid by electricity importers or exporters in order to be able to use the cross-border interconnection facilities run by RTE. The regulatory framework specifies that this revenue surplus belongs to the network users, and provides for it to be transferred to them over a period of several years. In a context where numerous network users are suffering from a strong impact linked to the increase in market prices, RTE proposed that the CRE approve the early, exceptional payment of the surplus revenue that was collected in 2022. The CRE issued a favourable decision in this regard on 8 December 2022, following a public consultation. This amount of €1.939 billion (2), which was set by a decision of 31 January 2023, was transferred through a one-off payment in February 2023;
  • the second development primarily concerns the rules on risk sharing between network users and RTE regarding items linked to the management of the electricity system, such as network congestion, contractual arrangements for reserves and voltage management. The aim is to reduce the level of risk to the level that prevailed before the market price spike, in order to give RTE better protection from the volatility of electricity prices. The CRE published its decision No.  2022-317 on 1 December 2022. This contains a draft decision on the tariffs for use of the public electricity transmission and distribution networks (TURPE 6 HTB and HTA-BTE), which was submitted to the Higher Council for Energy (CSE) for an opinion. Starting in 2022, this resulted in the suspension of the application of the incentive regulation for RTE’s congestion costs, and the payment, which was booked under income and expense adjustments, of the balance responsible entities’ bad debts on the merits of each individual case.
1.4.4.1.2.1 Maintenance of the transmission infrastructure and asset management

RTE manages the assets of the transmission network through the maintenance, refurbishment or replacement of structures and emergency repairs.

The gradual integration of new technologies, in particular monitoring, makes it possible to:

  • adapt technical policies for asset renewal; and
  • develop conditional and predictive maintenance via the optimisation of resource management, by targeting priority operations and 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.

Moreover, the construction in future years of rooms that are dedicated to the real- time management of infrastructures should make it possible to give priority treatment to resolving faults, with nationwide coverage. The aim is to reduce grid outage times for customers and communities.

(1) Amount to be confirmed by the CRE.

(2) Amount excluding tax.