January 2018
January 2018 was marked both by a very strong fall in gross demand and by
significant hydraulic and wind generation because of the weather conditions.
Gross demand fell by 17.8% compared to January 2017. Corrected for
climate factors, demand was slightly lower (-0.1%). Demand by industrial
sites connected to the public transmission network record increased by
2.3%.
Fossil fuel thermal generation was down 54.2% compared to January 2017.
Two new records were set for renewable generation excluding hydraulic
with 5 TWh and hydraulic generation with 7.2 TWh.
Wind generation was significantly higher by 87.9% because of particularly
favourable wind conditions in January. Solar generation fell by 17.6%
compared to 2017.
For France, trade was globally in favour of experts over all its borders except
with the CWE area.
7 new installations went into service in January 2018.
2Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly Electrical Energy Overview
January 2018
In January, hydraulic generation in Auvergne-Rhône-Alps and in Occitanie
covered respectively 43% and 39% of electricity demand in these regions
Market prices were lower in most European countries.
GENERATIONSeveral records were set in January 2018. Renewable generation excluding hydraulic was strongly up by 56% compared to
2017 and reached a new record level of more than 5 TWh. Hydraulic generation exceeded 7.2 TWh (a 38% increase) its
highest level since 2013. There was therefore much less need for fossil fuel thermal generation which recorded a fall of
more than 54%.
WIND AND SOLARThe stormy spells and gusts of wind led to an increase in wind generation of 88% compared to January 2017, which set a
new record of 3.9 TWh. The monthly average load factor was greater than 38%. The average monthly cover rate of
demand reached a record with 8%. Solar generation fell by nearly 17.6% compared to January 2017.
INTERNATIONAL TRADEIn January, France’s trade was strongly in favour of exports with over 7 TWh, the highest since August 2014. The export
balance of trade was close to its historical records across all borders with the exception of the CWE area.
3Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly Electrical Energy Overview
January 2018
NEW INSTALLATIONS7 installations went into service in January, including one overhead 150 KV line, three 63KV aerial-underground lines, two
63KV overhead lines to improve the security of the network, as well as a shunt reactor of 80MVA for better control of the
225KV high voltages of the northern part of the Pays de la Loire region.
DEMANDGross demand was down 17.8% compared to January 2017, due to a monthly average temperature increase of 5.4°C
compared to January 2017. Corrected for climate factors, overall demand was slightly down (-0.1%). The increase in
demand by large industry seen since May 2017 slowed a little in January 2018.
TERRITORIES AND REGIONSFollowing the plentiful rainfall of January 2018, hydraulic generation increased in all regions except in Provence-Alpes-
Côte-d'Azur (a fall of 32%). The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region was the most productive region with generation of 2.9
TWh which covered 43% of its demand. It was followed by the Occitanie region with 1.5 TWh i.e. cover of 39% of its
regional demand.
ELECTRICITY MARKETSThe French price fell sharply and its monthly average amounted to €35/MWh. Demand remained limited, with
particularly mild temperatures for the season and good availability of nuclear energy following on from that of
December.
*without energy sector
* Perimeter France excl. Corsica, losses included
Monthly energy consumption
Peak consumption*January 2018
47 019
0
10 000
20 000
30 000
40 000
50 000
60 000
70 000
Feb
-17
Ma
r-1
7
Ap
r-1
7
Ma
y-1
7
Jun
-17
Jul-
17
Au
g-1
7
Sep
-17
Oct
-17
No
v-1
7
De
c-1
7
Jan
-18
Monthly gross consumption
Period 2016-17
Period 2017-18
GWh
-0,1%
2,3%
-0,3%
-2%
-1%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
Feb
-17
Ma
r-1
7
Ap
r-1
7
Ma
y-1
7
Jun
-17
Jul-
17
Au
g-1
7
Sep
-17
Oct
-17
No
v-1
7
De
c-1
7
Jan
-18
Trend by sector in sliding year
adjusted from the climate effect
Adjusted national consumption
Direct RTE customers *
Adjusted consumption on PDN
79,4 GW
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
ma 1 je 3 sa 5 lu 7 me 9 ve 11 di 13 ma 15 je 17 sa 19 lu 21 me 23 ve 25 di 27 ma 29
55
60
65
70
75
80
Gross monthly consumption at the peak and actual temperature
Deviation from norm (°C) Gross consumption : daily peak (GW) Actual temperature
°CGW
102,1 GW
79,4 GW
29,5 GW
50,1 GW
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110GW Evolution of monthly power extrema
Max power Min Power Absolute max Absolute min
4Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
January 2018January 2018Installed capacity (MW) Energy generated (GWh)
Focus on generation sectors
Nuclear
63 130
Wind
13 539
Solar
7 647
Other RES
1 949
Conventional
Thermal
18 947
Hydro-
electric
25 517
Nuclear
40 791
Wind
3 852
Solar
299
Other RES
859
Conventional
Thermal
3 813
Hydro-
electric
7 252
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
Feb
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep
Oct
No
v
De
c
Jan
Nuclear generation
Period 2016-17 Period 2017-18
GWh
GWh
5Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electricical energy overview
January 2018
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Feb
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep
Oct
No
v
De
c
Jan
Hydro-electric generation
Period 2016-17 Period 2017-18
GWh
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
Feb
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep
Oct
No
v
De
c
Jan
Fossil-fuel thermal generation
Period 2016-17 Period 2017-18
GWh
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
Feb
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep
Oct
No
v
De
c
Jan
RES generation excl. hydro-electric
Period 2016-17 Period 2017-18
GWh
* Refer to glossary for category definitions
Wind capacity awaiting connection at Enedis as of 31/12/17: 6 557 MW
** data available up to December 2017 Solar capacity awaiting connection at Enedis as of 31/12/17: 2 626 MW
22 MW 2
27
641 MW 3
0 MW 10
7
3 027 MW 0 0 MW
Wind
Monthly generation
Planned fleet on the PTNFleet development in France
950 MW
Installed
capacity*
at
31/01/18
Technology
Cumulative
powerNb
Cumulative
powerNb
Projects in
preparation*
Queued
projects *
85 MW
of which
Offshore
Photovoltaic
1891 MW 303 MW
0
1 352
2 704
4 056
5 409
6 761
8 113
9 465
10 817
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
1/1
1/3
1/5
1/7
1/9
1/1
1
1/1
3
1/1
5
1/1
7
1/1
9
1/2
1
1/2
3
1/2
5
1/2
7
1/2
9
1/3
1
MW
Load factor of wind generation
January 2018
Mean load factor by half-hour interval (%) and associated power
Mean monthly load factor (%) and associated power
000
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
Jan
10
Ap
r 1
0Ju
l 1
0O
ct 1
0Ja
n 1
1A
pr
11
Jul
11
Oct
11
Jan
12
Ap
r 1
2Ju
l 1
2O
ct 1
2Ja
n 1
3A
pr
13
Jul
13
Oct
13
Jan
14
Ap
r 1
4Ju
l 1
4O
ct 1
4Ja
n 1
5A
pr
15
Jul
15
Oct
15
Jan
16
Ap
r 1
6Ju
l 1
6O
ct 1
6Ja
n 1
7A
pr
17
Jul
17
Oct
17
Development of generating fleets in France**
Wind farm Solar photovoltaic
MW
6Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
Feb
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep
Oct
No
v
De
c
Jan
Wind generation
Period 2016-17 Period 2017-18
GWh
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Feb
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep
Oct
No
v
De
c
Jan
Photovoltaic generation
Period 2016-17 Period 2017-18
GWh
8,1%
18,5%
1,1%0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
Jan
12
Ap
r 1
2
Jul
12
Oct
12
Jan
13
Ap
r 1
3
Jul
13
Oct
13
Jan
14
Ap
r 1
4
Jul
14
Oct
14
Jan
15
Ap
r 1
5
Jul
15
Oct
15
Jan
16
Ap
r 1
6
Jul
16
Oct
16
Jan
17
Ap
r 1
7
Jul
17
Oct
17
Jan
18
Rate of coverage of consumption by wind
generation (%)
Average value Maximal value Minimal value
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
Distribution of regional generationDistribution of regional
consumption
Hydraulic generation reaches the highest ever monthly level
8
Aperçu mensuel sur l'énergie électrique
Septembre 2015
7Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
GWh
5 000
4 000
3 000
2 000
GWh
6 000
3 000
1500
500
87
Monthly hydraulic generation reached a new
record high of 7252 GWh as a result of the
rainy conditions in January 2018.
The two regions where hydraulic generation
was the highest were the Auvergne-Rhone-
Alpes region with 2955 GWh (43% of the
regional demand) and the Occitanie region
with 1583 GWh (39% of its demand).
Compared to January 2017, hydraulic
generation increased in all regions with the
exception of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
where it fell by 32%.
-600
-400
-200
0
200
400
600
800
Evolution of Hydro-electic generation in January
compared to January 2017 by region
Daily average value evolution of the spot prices during the month
Moyenne sur le mois
Spot prices in Europe Actuality ofMonthly average value Market mechanisms
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
1-Jan 4-Jan 7-Jan 10-Jan 13-Jan 16-Jan 19-Jan 22-Jan 25-Jan 28-Jan 31-Jan
€/MWh
Belgium Netherland France Germany/Austrich Great Britain Spain Italia (north)
8Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
34,95
36,78
38,7929,46
56,34
49,9851,63
47,26
62,15
47,4747,77
48,24
48,2537,92
38,68
30,76
31,57
32,88
32,39
32,26
32,2932,41
prix < prix FR
0
Sens du spread
34,95
prix > prix FR
On Monday 1 January, there was a spell of negative
prices in several European countries: France,
Germany/Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and
Slovenia. This spell is explained by very plentiful
wind generation whereas demand is at its lowest
level on this public holiday. The price fell to € -
76/MWh in Germany and € -31.8/MWh in France. It
should be noted that on this day, the French price
was negative for seven hourly periods; i.e. more
than the previous three years combined.
Other negative prices were recorded in the month,
in Germany and to a lesser extent in Denmark when
wind generation was high.
Several spells of negative prices in Europe
Prix (€/MWh)
The energy values described correspond to contracted exchanges on Euronext.
Commercial exchangesJanuary 2018
Monthly exchange balances on each border
-1000
-500
0
500
1000
1500
2000
fév
r
ma
rs
avr
ma
i
juin
juil
ao
ût
sep
t
oct
no
v
dé
c
jan
v
GWh With Great Britain
2016-17 2017-18
-500
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
fév
r
ma
rs
avr
ma
i
juin
juil
ao
ût
sep
t
oct
no
v
dé
c
jan
v
GWh With Switzerland
2016-17 2017-18
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
fév
r
ma
rs
avr
ma
i
juin
juil
ao
ût
sep
t
oct
no
v
dé
c
jan
v
GWh With Italy
2016-17 2017-18
-600-400-200
0200400600800
100012001400160018002000
fév
r
ma
rs
avr
ma
i
juin
juil
ao
ût
sep
t
oct
no
v
dé
c
jan
v
GWh With Spain
2016-17 2017-18
9Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
2 269
2 034
296
28
EXPORT : 8 843 GWh
IMPORT : 1 839 GWh
GWh
BALANCE : 7 005 GWh
-4000
-3000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
2000
3000
fév
r
ma
rs
avr
ma
i
juin
juil
ao
ût
sep
t
oct
no
v
dé
c
jan
v
GWh With CWE zone
2016-17 2017-18
-3 113
16 238
-5 000
0
5 000
10 000
15 000
20 000
1/1
1/2
1/3
1/4
1/5
1/6
1/7
1/8
1/9
1/1
0
1/1
1
1/1
2
1/1
3
1/1
4
1/1
5
1/1
6
1/1
7
1/1
8
1/1
9
1/2
0
1/2
1
1/2
2
1/2
3
1/2
4
1/2
5
1/2
6
1/2
7
1/2
8
1/2
9
1/3
0
1/3
1
MW Daily extrema of the export balance
Minimal balance Maximal blance
10Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
Overhead line Underground line Substation
63 to 150 kV
63 kV overhead line
Laurons - Lavera
Bouches du Rhône (13)
Partial renewal of conductors
80 MVA shunt reactor
Oudon
Mayenne (53)
Better control of 225kV high
voltage in the northern part of
the Pays de la Loire region
150 kV overhead line
Bancairon - Entrevaux
Alpes Maritimes (06)
Rehabilitation of the line to secure
the power supply to the area
63 kV overhead-underground line
Breteuil - Piquage à Gannes
Gannes - Piquage à Gannes
Valescourt - Piquage à Gannes
Oise (60)
As part of the restructuring of the 63 kV
network of centre of the Oise
department
11Monthly Overview - January 2018
Monthly electrical energy overview
January 2018
Data sourcesThis document relies on metered data collected by RTE and also on data sent by the french DSOs, especially eRDF and EDF SEI.
Gross national demands and actual temperatures
Daily peak for perimeter France excl. Corsica
For more information on how actual
temperatures and reference temperatures are
calculated, visit RTE's website:
http://www.rte-
france.com/lienrapide/media_apercus_an
Extreme capacity value trend
Max/Min Power:
Maximum/minimum power consumption in France over the month,
excluding Corsica
Absolute extreme value:
Extreme value for consumption observed since 1st January 2008
GenerationThe "Hydro-electric" category includes all types of hydro plants (impoundment, run-of-river, etc.). Consumption for pumping by pumped storage facilities is not deducted from generation.
The "Nuclear" category includes all nuclear units. Consumption by auxiliary units is deducted from generation.
The "Fossil-fuel thermal" category includes Coal, Oil and Gas-fired technologies.
The "Other RES" category includes PV solar, Biomass, Biogas and paper/card waste.
The installed capacity values are valid for the end of the month, with the exception of the "Other RES" category, which is valid for the start of the month.
Monthly gross consumption
Perimeter : France with Corsica, losses included
Wind Generation Coverage of demand
Load factor :
Ratio of wind power generated to nominal installed
wind capacity
Coverage rate :
Ratio of wind power generated to gros national consumption
at a given time
Generation
Nb
Puissance
installéePuissance
cumulée
Projets en file
d'attente
Projets en
préparation
NbPuissance
cumulée
Filière
Eolien
dont Offshore
Photovoltaïque
361 MW 22
24 MW 9
42% 80%
238 MW 1 30 MW
2131 MW 9 2559 MW
Wind: onshore and offshore wind projects. The share of offshore capacity is indicated in the row below
Installed capacity:
Cumulative capacity of installations for which a connection agreement has been signed.
Queued projects:
Projects which have entered the connection queue under RTE's connection procedure, i.e. projects which have signed a "queuing proposal" with RTE, following a detailed
connection study or a "technical and financial proposal".
Projects in preparation:
Connection projects for which RTE has been asked to provide a detailed study or technical and financial proposal, currently being examined by RTE, or for which the
Trend by sector in sliding year adjusted from the climate effect
Total consumption: Consumption of France, with Corsica, losses included.
Adjusted from climate effect.
Adjusted consumption on PDN: Represents the consumption of
resditential and SMEs/SMIs sector. Data adjusted from weather effect.
Direct RTE customers : Industrial sites connected directly to the PTN
(excluding consumption at source). Energy sector is excluded
Trend in sliding year : growth between the last 12 cumulative monthly
values and the previous 12
International exchanges
Glossary
Prices in EuropeMonthly average of spot prices in the different price zones of the coupled area. France is always represented in white, the other areas are coloured based on the difference
in price compared with France (blue: lower price, red: higher price, the deeper the colour, the greater the difference).
Daily spot price changes
Change of the spot price in France and in the coupled neighbouring
regions, over a month in daily average, (NB: for Italy the price of
the northern area is shown, for Nordic countries the average of the
areas displayed on the map is shown).
Spot price: Wholesale price of electricity, determined by the power exchanges the day
before for delivery the following day, for each hour of the day.
Spread : Price differential between two price areas (here between each price area and
France).
Price area: Geographic area inside which the electricity price is identical and where
exchanges are done with no allocation of capacity. A price area may combine several
countries (for example: Germany, Austria, Luxembourg) and a country may be subdivided
into more than one price area (for example: Italy, Norway).
Daily extrema :
Extrema of the half hour mean power value of the global international
commercial exchanges, observed daily.
Type of installation
Name of installation
(or substation)
Département
Nature of work