Key figures for 2017
Infrastructures
With nearly 105,000 km of lines, RTE’s grid is the biggest in Europe. 46.2% of extra-high voltage lines (400,000 and 225,000 volts) transmit electricity over long distances and to 60 cross-border connections with the neighbouring countries. The lines at 150,000, 90,000 and 63,000 volts are designed for regional sub-transmission.
In 2015, the transmission system was composed of 1,231 transformers, 2,710 RTE substations and 3,504 delivery points.
In 2015, 24 new substations composed of 17 RTE substations and 7 customer substations were commissioned and 1 111 km of lines were built or replaced.
97% This is the rate of burying of the new 63,000 and 90,000 volt structures built between 2014 and 2015.
Electricity flow
In 2015, 495 billion kWh were injected and routed on the transmission system. 112 billion kWh were traded at the borders (accumulated contractual trades).
French consumption amounted to 475 TWh in 2015. French electricity consumption remained stable.
Electricity generation
Within the framework of the European directive for the Energy and Climate package, France has committed itself to a share of renewable energies accounting for 23% of final energy consumption by the year 2020. Applied to power generation, this target results in increasing the share of renewable energies (mainly hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic power and biomass energy) to 27%.
Electricity market
The total contractual cross-border trades amounted to 65.1 billion kWh in 2015, making France the largest power exporting country in Europe.
In order to balance generation and consumption as close as possible to the demand, RTE resorts to the balancing mechanism, which enables the best technical and financial bids to be selected. Power generation companies and consumers (balancing participants), through the market participants, submit upward and downward bids.
