All natural gas storage capacity has been subscribed, guaranteeing security of supply for the winter of 2020-2021. At the end of the 2020-21 storage capacity auction, CRE sets the storage tariff term at €78.63/MWh/d/year from 1 April 2020, down 63% compared with the previous year.
20 years of thinking about tomorrow's energy
The Energy Regulatory Commission is now twenty years old. It is also the anniversary of an
energy trading sector that has undergone profound changes and will continue to do so as a result of the energy transition. The CRE, born of European directives, has made a major contribution to the construction of the Europe of energy. At the heart of the energy system, its missions have multiplied to ensure the proper functioning of the markets for the benefit of consumers and thus work in the general interest.
Before 1 April of each year, CRE sets the storage tariff charge, the aim of which is to collect from transmission system users the sum corresponding to the difference between the storage operators' authorised income set by CRE and the income from the marketing of storage capacities collected by the operators. The storage capacity auctions for winter 2020-2021 were a success. They took place in two stages:
32 TWh were sold in the multiannual auctions of June 2019;
and 96 TWh in the three 3-week auction sessions that took place from November 12, 2019 to February 27, 2020.
The totality of the marketed capacities were allocated, i.e. 128 TWh. These good results guarantee France's security of natural gas supply for winter 2020-21. They also confirm that the auction procedures set by the CRE are working well.
The average auction price of €3.85/MWh is significantly higher than that of the last two campaigns. This good result is due to a larger seasonal gas price differential than in previous marketing years, as well as an increase in the number of auction participants.
Revenue from marketing capacity for the winter of 2020-2021 thus doubled compared with the winter of 2019-2020. The revenues collected in 2020 cover 63% of the storage operators' authorized revenue, compared with 26% in 2018 and 2019.
As a result, the level of the storage tariff term applicable from 1 April 2020, set by CRE at €78.63/MWh/d/year, is 63% lower than the previous year.
