Commission for energy regulation - 2012 Activity Report

After a presentation of the organisation, role and missions of the French Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE), and of its relationship with other institutional actors, this report describes and comments the action of the CRE in the fields of dialogue and transparency. It presents and comments key figures regarding the electricity and gas retail markets. It reports and comments the European reaction to the cold peak of February 2012 (historical peak for consumption and prices, inquiry on the causes of these price peaks, need of a European market). The next part addresses the relationship between electricity grids and territories (solidarity between electricity grids as the basis of the Europe of energy, evolution of French grids to face new needs and to take regional and local dimensions into account). Another part addresses gas infrastructures which are considered as the cornerstone of a good operation for the French market and for the integration of the European energy market (gas world market in 2012, definition of a target model for the gas market by European regulators, evolution of the French market in compliance with the European target model, new tariffs for the use of natural gas transport networks). The report then addresses the development of renewable energies: actions of CRE (bidding, opinion of tariffs), influence of renewable energy development on electricity prices on gross markets, needed evolution of electricity grids. A last part addresses the issues of energy cost, demand management, and struggle against energy poverty