Brussels, 22/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 17 July, RTE, the French electricity transmission system operator (TSO), published a document for the press on its European initiatives. RTE has provided a public service mission in France since February 2000 and is responsible for ensuring the physical distribution of electricity throughout national territory, for facilitating the working of the French electricity grid, and for accompanying market opening. A French power exchange, Powernext SA, has been set up to manage power supply and demand on the market. The innovative aspect is that suppliers and electricity TSOs from other member states participate in this power exchange to create a European electricity market.
Promoting regional cooperation. RTE claims to be one of the pillars of the regional flagship projects, with a major role in the European association of TSOs, ETSO (European Transmission System Operators). A first project of association with Belgium and the Netherlands has been set in place to allow markets to be coupled, through Powernext association, to the Belgium and Dutch power exchanges, APX and Belpex. The aim is to make trading more fluid, improve management and the use of capacities, and ensure the security of electricity systems. Extension of this cooperation to Germany and Luxembourg is foreseen for 2009, leading to constitution of the so-called “Central West Europe” (CWE) region. This should publish a forward estimate end 2008. The aim in time is for economic optimisation of overall European energy production and the constitution of a single electricity market in Europe.
Challenges and other initiatives. RTE plays a role in a series of other regional cooperation projects: - an initiative with the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a joint project between RTE and the British TSO, National Grid, which was launched in 2007; - initiatives in the south-west, with Spain and Portugal, and in the central-south with Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Greece. The key challenge in each of these projects is to harmonise the allocation mechanisms and the rules for national markets in order to consolidate cooperation and avoid any lasting price differences between countries. (A.D./transl.jl)