2012 Activity and sustainable development report - RTE

A NEED FOR INNOVATIONThe gap in consumption between the highest point in the winter and the lowest pointin the summer continues to widen: 30,000 MW at the lowest and more than 100,000 MWat the peak in 2012. The demand generated for every drop in winter temperature of 1° Chas risen by 35% in ten years, putting the transmission network under great pressure.FOR A DETAILED RECAP OF THE COLD SPELL IN FEBRUARY 2012(IN FRENCH), SEE THE RTE ANALYSIS: > www.rtefrance.com/lienrapide/retour-hiver2012INNOVATING TO…REDUCE PEAKSIn February 2012, France experienced an exceptional coldspell in terms of its length and its intensity. Regularlyexceeding 100,000 MW over the entire period, daily peaksreached levels never before seen.GREATER TRANSMISSION CAPACITYThe rise in electricity consumption at peak times requiresstronger transmission capacity at certain points of thenetwork in order to ensure security of supply, particularly inregions that are fragile because of their low level of localproduction, Brittany and PACA chief among them. Thanks toa technology watch, innovative equipment has been identified,such low-expansion cables. These offer greater transmissioncapacity than traditional cables. Although they are more expensive,they represent a viable option for increasing thecapacity of a line using the same infrastructure, or even reducingthe number of towers, an advantage when space is limited.REDUCING DEMAND AT PEAK TIMESIn parallel, RTE encourages industrial players, localauthorities and private individuals to reduce or defer theirconsumption of electricity at peak times. The company has setup a partnership with the Association of French Mayors in orderto encourage all municipal authorities to limit their consumptionbetween 5 pm and 8 pm in severe cold weather. Consumers inthe most vulnerable regions are alerted by services such asÉcoWatt by email and SMS and through the social networks.In the industrial sector, the contracted load-sheddingcapacity in 2012 stood at 400 MW, and distributed load sheddingon small sites exceeded 70 MW in February. However, thesemechanisms remain on a small scale by comparison with thegrowth of peak consumption, which was 5,390 MW higher thanthe previous peak on 15 December 2010. The capacity obligationmechanism due to come into force in winter 2016-2017 willencourage their development. •Peak demand is satisfied by thermal power plants. In orderto make the least use possible of them, and thereby avoid thecorresponding carbon emissions, RTE has installed the meansfor reactive compensation which stabilise voltage in coldperiods and under certain situations of cross-border flows.36