This reimbursement is the consequence of the exceptional income collected by the manager of the French high voltage lines in 2022 under the effect of tensions on the electricity market.
RTE will return 1.9 billion euros to its customers before March 15 due to the exceptional revenue collected by the manager of French high-voltage lines in 2022 under the effect of tensions on the electricity market, announced Monday the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE).
These exceptional revenues come mainly from the access rights paid by the importers or exporters of electricity to be able to use the interconnections
cross-border lines operated by RTE.
“The sharp rise in wholesale electricity prices at European level observed in 2022 has led to significant variations in the costs and revenues of network operators, resulting for RTE in a strong surplus, mainly linked to the increase in revenues from ‘interconnection’, recalled the CRE, which wants this surplus to be returned in advance to network users.
Enedis and local distribution companies would be the main beneficiaries
Their amount depends on the volumes exchanged at the borders and the electricity price differentials between France and its neighbours, which have widened in the context of the European energy crisis, fueled by the consequences of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
CRE specified in a press release that Enedis and the local distribution companies (LDCs) would be the main beneficiaries of RTE’s payment in terms of volume and that this would result in a lower increase in the tariffs for use of the public distribution networks. electricity in the next few years.
This restitution also concerns nearly 380 industrial customers, including 200 electro-intensive (large consumers of electricity), in the chemical, metallurgy and paper/cardboard industries, RTE indicated in the fall.
For these manufacturers, this exceptional payment “will be deducted from their invoice under the TURPE HTB”, specifies the CRE.
It will make it possible to mitigate in the longer term any “tariff catch-ups” which would be applied to consumers due to additional costs incurred by these distributors, according to RTE.
