Overview of electrical energy in march 2003

This document aims to give information on the exploitation of the transmission public network and the french electric power industry during march 2003: the internal electric power consumption in France (national consumption is the total of all the electrical energy supplied for consumption in France (including Corsica, but not the French Overseas Departments), thermal and hydro generation + imports - exports - pumping, and which have been consumed in the transmission and distribution networks, by the end-users, as well as by losses) - national consumption in March 2003 shows a rise of 1.1% compared with that of March 2002, despite an average temperature higher by 0.5 deg. C in March 2003 compared with the same month of the prior year, but with 3 fewer 'Peak Day Withdrawal' (EJP) tariff option requests than in March 2002. The adjusted consumption growth rate over 12 months has risen by 0.2% since last month, while the national consumption growth rate has increased slightly, rising from 1.3% at the end of February 2003, to +1.5% at the end of March 2003; the energy accounting from the transmission point of view (the balance recorded by RTE takes into account only the energy physical flows conveyed on the RTE network) - to cope with increased national consumption as compared with March 2002, the overall volume of injections is up by 0.9 TWh, for a total figure of 45.2 TWh in March 2003. Hydro output is on the rise by 0.6 TWh compared with the same period of the prior year and thermal generation remains relatively stable, up by 0.1 TWh. Both imports and exports have increased by about 0.2 TWh, the export balance remaining identical to that of March 2002; the consumption and the physical exchanges (these values reflect all of the flows on the RTE network, as well as the generation auto-consumed by the industrial consumers connected to this network); the electric power market: the market players, contractual exchanges recorded by RTE, contractual exchanges by border (these exchanges include all contracts managed by RTE, including historical contracts), contracts for access to international connections; and the evolution of the transmission network - the following facilities were commissioned on the RTE network in March 2003: the Kerbach 63 kV substation, connected to the Marienau-Sarreguemines 63 kV line in Lorraine, so as to meet the load growth and restructure the medium voltage network in the area; the 613 transformer at the 225 kV substation of Villeneuve-St Georges, so as to meet the load increase in this part of the Paris region. (A.L.B.)