Electricity: RTE will redistribute more than a billion euros to its customers

RTE va redistribuer plus d'un milliard d'euros aux utilisateurs de son réseau, en raison du volume d'échanges sur ses interconnexions.

Posted Sep 28, 2022, 7:30 AMUpdated on Sep 28, 2022 at 10:30 am

In the heart of winter, some will receive good news. RTE has announced that it will redistribute to its customers more than one billion euros in exceptional revenue in the first quarter of 2023. This revenue comes mainly from tolls paid by importers and exporters of electricity to be able to use the interconnections managed by TEN.

According to European rules, these duties are all the higher when trade is intense and when price differences between France and its neighbors are significant. However, this year, electricity prices have exploded in France. And, when RTE’s revenue exceeds the estimated amounts set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), the excess must be returned to network users.

Accelerated procedures

For this year, RTE has asked the CRE, exceptionally, to modify its rules so that reimbursement can be made this winter. Normally, this could have taken five to six years. The final figure will only be known at the end of the year, but on current bases, it could even be over 1.5 billion euros.

The vast majority will be given back to distributors, such as Enedis, which should in turn benefit its users. In this case, however, the final consumer could only see the fruits in a few months, once the winter has passed. Less than 10% of this sum should be redistributed to the several hundred manufacturers directly connected to the RTE network (particularly in chemicals and metallurgy). “It seemed normal to us to organize the redistribution as quickly as possible, especially since these customers are often electro-intensive”, explains Laurent Martel, general manager of the finance, purchasing and risk division at RTE.

In proportion to invoices

The sums will be redistributed in proportion to the payments received by RTE in 2022. Enedis should thus receive approximately 88% of the amount. In total, a large third of the bills for 2022 will be reimbursed.

This Tuesday, the CRE launched a public consultation on the subject. All players in the sector are called upon to express their views on the terms of reimbursement, which should not, however, disrupt the process. “We have, with the CRE, proposed objective rules which should not pose a problem, assures Laurent Martel. This whole process is the perfect illustration of the maturity of the French regulatory system, which is stable, predictable and capable of adapting to exceptional circumstances. »

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