Universal Registration Document 2022

1.4.4.1.2.2 Development and completion of new capital investments

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 2022, RTE’s total investments within the scope regulated by the CRE amounted to €1,722 million. RTE’s 2023 investment programme, which has been submitted to the CRE for approval, amounts to €1,880.8 million.

The main investments in 2022 were as follows:

• the continuation of construction works on the “Savoie-Piedmont” direct current interconnection between France and Italy, with the commissioning, on 5 November 2022, of the first HVDC (high-voltage direct current) link. The second link is scheduled to come on line in mid-2023;
• the commissioning of the first French offshore wind farm in Saint-Nazaire, for an installed capacity of 480MW;
• the continuation of the connection works for the Fécamp, Sand-Brieuc, Courseulles-sur-Mer, Noirmoutier and Dieppe le Tréport offshore wind farms;
• the increase of the exchange capacity on the borders with Belgium (Avelin Avelgem line) and Spain (Argia Hernani line);
• the construction of a 2.5km tunnel using a micro-tunnelling machine in 2023, and the local-initiative power line burial works (“MESIL”) in Villeneuve-la- Garenne to support the infrastructures that are planned for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games;
• the continuation of the construction of the South Averyon station in order to secure the electricity supply to northern Occitania, while allowing for the introduction of renewable generation;
• the resumption of the Haute-Durance programme (securing supply to the Haute-Durance Valley).

Investment projections 2022-2026

Over the period 2022-2026, RTE is planning a continual increase of its investment programme (+43% over four years) in accordance with the trajectory presented in the ten-year plan for development of the network (Schéma décennal de développement du réseau, SDDR). The programme is characterised by ongoing major investments in the expansion and renewal of the network, and of the IT systems and real estate portfolio, and aims to:

• contribute to European climate goals:
• support energy transition, in particular through changes to the connection of an industry that is undergoing carbon intensity reduction;
• develop the grid of the future, including offshore;
• facilitate the integration of the European electricity system by means of interconnections.

The following are primarily concerned:

• the modernisation of the aging network, with the aim of rebuilding/refurbishing the “network for everyday needs” that was built when electricity became ordinaryplace in French homes during the fifties. Due to the age pyramid of RTE’s “network” assets, the increase in renewal investments will be continued during the second half of the decade. For example, the number of kilometres of overhead powerlines that are renewed each year will quadruple over the next decade;
• the development of the offshore network, with projects to connect offshore wind farms that are materialising (the commissioning of the Sant-Brieuc and Fécamp wind farms is planned for 2023) and proliferating (calls for tenders AO4 to AO8 are currently being defined as part of the multi-year energy programme);
• the connection of new reduced carbon intensity generation resources, through the progress of the Regional Schemes for the Connection of Renewable Energies to the Grid (S3REnR). At the end of 2022, around 54GW of new capacities were reserved for generation using renewable sources, approximately 40% of which are part of projects for which the connection has already been contractually agreed with RTE.

1.4.4.1.2.3 Operation of the electricity system

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.).

Management of the electricity system

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 event of a positive difference, RTE compensates the balance responsible entities financially.

Management of the interconnections

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 other European country, by taking into account the price differences on either side of the border, and can better pool the means of generation at European level (including renewable energies, in particular).

Network coordination in Europe

The regulatory texts also define the services that Coordination Centres ⁽¹⁾ 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.). The network operators and Coordination Centres are currently designing ordinary methodologies for their progressive implementation, which started in mid- 2022.

1.4.4.1.3 2022 Energy report

In France, the adjusted electricity consumption ⁽²⁾ (including Corsica) ended 2022 at 459TWh ⁽³⁾  . This is a reduction of 1.7%  compared to 2021 when it totalled 468TWh. This reduction, which was particularly noticeable in the second half of the year, concerns all sectors. While it is difficult to distinguish the respective contributions of energy sobriety that is not imposed and economic constraints that are, national mobilisation in favour of energy savings has played an important role. In 2022, the French balance of trade become positive for the first time in many years, with an import balance of 16.5TWh.

The quality of electricity supplied by RTE is estimated on the basis of two indicators: the equivalent outage time and outage frequency. The values of these indicators for 2022 are still provisional. Based on information available to date, the equivalent outage time is 2min 19s (the target set by the CRE is 2min 48s) and the outage frequency is 0.354 (the target set by the CRE is 0.46).