- Press kit. RTE takes over Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine s high voltage electricity network

Transcription

1 - Press kit RTE takes over Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine s high voltage electricity network HBL press contact: RTE press contact: Alfred OLSZAK Thierry LARTIGAU Tel: Tel Fax: Fax: Cell phone: Cell phone: St Avold, December 10 th 2003

2 St Avold, December 10 th 2003 RTE TAKES OVER HOUILLÈRES DU BASSIN DE LORRAINE S HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRICITY NETWORK Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine (HBL) decided to sell their high voltage electricity network to RTE. This takeover by RTE, the French transmission system operator, corresponds to the public service mission entrusted to it by the law of February 10 th 2000, concerning the rational distribution of an electricity service in France and the local servicing of customers through the public transmission system. On Wednesday December 10 th 2003, RTE and HBL signed a memorandum of understanding concluding the takeover by RTE of HBL s high-voltage network. The transfer of ownership will take effect on July 1 st 2004 when 26 HBL agents will be assigned to work at RTE to take part in the operation and maintenance of transformer lines and substations. This change conforms to major challenges: - The sale of HBL s electricity network falls within the framework of the National pact for Coal (Pacte Charbonnier National). This was signed in 1994, and provides for the phasing out of coal mining as well as the sale of the various perennial businesses. HBL has already carried out several successful disposals. - The act of February 10 th 2000 entrusted RTE, the transmission system operator, with the task of operating, maintaining and developing the high-voltage and extra highvoltage network in France. The takeover by RTE of the HBL network is a guarantee of the continuity of this network and is a long-term solution to the need for a rational electricity distribution service in France. The HBL network was built to serve the company s mining facilities and plants. It comprises about 100 km of lines, two 225 kv / 63 kv substations that connect to the public transmission system and eleven 63 kv / 5 kv distribution substations. It also serves customers including the ATOFINA chemical platform in Carling and the towns of Creutzwald and Forbach. RTE is the French transmission system operator, which was set up on 1 July It is a public service company with the mission of operating, maintaining and developing the high voltage and extra high voltage network in France. It guarantees the correct functioning and safety of the electric system. RTE conveys electricity between European and French electricity suppliers and consumers, who may be electricity distributors (EDF and local distribution companies) or eligible consumers (industrial sites that are directly connected to the transmission network). With 100,000 km of lines conveying between 63 kv and 400 kv and 44 cross-border lines, RTE manages the largest electricity network in Europe. In 2002, RTE posted a turnover of EUR 3,657 million. It employs 8,000 people. Page 2 / 2

3 CONTENTS Brief description of the High voltage network Scope of the takeover Major challenges Conditions of integration into the Public Transmission System APPENDICES: Fact sheet of the HBL network acquired by RTE RTE, electricity transmission system operator Page 3 / 3

4 Brief description of the High voltage network The power grid was originally built to serve HBL mines and plants. It was not included in the scope of application of the electricity and gas nationalisation law of 1946 and has acquired its current configuration over the years. It is connected to the public transmission system by two different electric sources: the RTE 225 kv/63 kv transformer substations in St-Avold and Petite-Rosselle. The Société Nationale d Electricité et de Thermique (SNET), which owns and operates coal-fired power stations, injects the production of some generators from its Carling thermal power station into them. The network comprises about 100 km of lines, two 225 kv / 63 kv substations that connect to the public transmission system and eleven 63 kv / 5 kv distribution substations. This network, which was built to serve the mines, is a dual network: each mine has two separate power supplies, as provided in the General Regulation on Extractive Industries. The network goes through the Saar territory. It supplies the site of the Merlebach-Nord shaft, through the Saint-Nicolas substation. The Warndtschacht substation provides a mutual backup between the HBL and the Saarberg mines. Electricity consumption of the customers connected to this network currently represents about 1,500 Giga-watt-hours, or the equivalent of the consumption of a town with a population of about 250,000. Page 4 / 4

5 Scope of the takeover HBL wishes to ensure the continuity of this business by selling off the high voltage part of the network. Customers connected to this network own their transformers and the associated medium-voltage networks or will be acquiring them in the near future. HBL s medium-voltage installations will be phased out as the sites are gradually shut down between 2004 and The scope of the takeover comprises all the HBL 225 kv and 63 kv installations, lines and sub-stations, up to the power supply cells of transformers, as well as the centralised installations of the Saint-Avold dispatching centre. The 63 kv /5 kv transformers and upstream distribution networks are not included in the takeover. HBL will temporarily assign some employees to work with RTE to facilitate the integration of its network into the public transmission system. There will be 26 people in 2004, and they will be made up of staff who are currently working on the dispatching, operation and maintenance of lines and 63 KV substations. HBL employees who are not assigned to RTE will continue the operation and maintenance of HV/MV transformers and MV installations that remain the property of HBL for the remainder of their service life. Page 5 / 5

6 Major challenges The takeover, by RTE of HBL s high-voltage electricity network falls within the framework of the National Coal Agreement (Pacte Charbonnier National). This was signed in 1994, and provides for the phasing out of coal mining as well as the sale of various businesses that can be continued in the long-tem. To this end, several takeover operations have already been successfully carried out. - the railway business by VFLI Cargo; - the ATEST laboratory by AIR LIQUIDE; - the protected workshops of Cuvelette by LORRAINE ATELIERS; - the real estate assets of HBL by S.A. Ste BARBE; - the real estate company Foyer du Mineur et du Combattant (FMC) by S.A. HLM of Franche Comté (SAFC). The law of 10 February 2000 entrusted RTE, the transmission system operator, with the public service mission of operating, maintaining and developing the high-voltage and extra high-voltage network in France. It was therefore only natural that RTE buy the HBL network. This operation guarantees the continuity of the network. It is a long-term solution to the need for a rational electricity distribution service in France and for quality service for connected customers. It reinforces the challenges below: ensure a safe and top-quality power supply at the service of connected customers. maintain the mutual backup power supply between the mines in France s Lorraine region and the Saarberg mines in Germany. enable the connection of any other economic players to the public transmission network operated by RTE. This will back up the reconversion policy being implemented by local players, elected officials, local communities and manufacturers. Page 6 / 6

7 Conditions of integration into the Public Transmission System RTE has been working closely with HBL for nearly a year to define the technical and economic conditions of the network takeover. This resulted in the signing of the memorandum of understanding on December 10 th this year. Major works will be undertaken between now and 2008 to fully integrate the operation of these facilities into the other RTE facilities. The HBL employees who will be working at RTE and the RTE teams will work together to ensure the transfer of knowledge about the specific characteristics of the HBL network and inherent skills. The HBL network will be monitored by the St-Avold dispatching centre until end After this date, it will be taken over by the RTE dispatching centre in Villers-les-Nancy, and integrated into the entire public transport system. The takeover will take effect on July 1 st 2004 after the extraction is discontinued. The cost of the operation for RTE is EUR 8.7 million. Page 7 / 7

8 APPENDIX 1 Fact sheet of the HBL network acquired by RTE Length of the line: 100 km, including an underground section. Number of transformer substations: 13 substations of which two 225 /63 kv substations Customers directly connected to the network: ATOFINA, Creutzwald agency, Schoeneck agency, EDF GDF Services, RFF, SNET and HBL installations. Page 8 / 8

9 APPENDIX 2: RTE, ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM OPERATOR RTE is the French transmission system operator, which was set up on July 1 st It is a public service company with the mission of operating, maintaining and developing the high-voltage and extra high-voltage network in France. It guarantees the correct functioning and safety of the electric system. RTE conveys electricity between European and French electricity suppliers and consumers, who may be electricity distributors (EDF and local distribution companies) or eligible consumers (industrial sites that are directly connected to the transmission network). With 100,000 km of lines conveying between 63 kv and 400 kv and 44 cross-border lines, RTE manages the largest electricity network in Europe. In 2002, RTE posted a turnover of EUR 3,657 million. It employs 8,000 people. RTE is represented in Eastern France by two regional units, headquartered in Villers-lès- Nancy: Système Electrique Est (SE-EST) and Transport Electricité Est (TE-EST). These two units are complementary as well as interdependent. They operate in the following regions: Alsace, Burgundy, Franche-Comté, Lorraine and the south of Champagne- Ardenne, covering a total of 16 départements. RTE in the East: a key economic player in the region With its leading role in electricity transmission, its missions, size and turnover, RTE is a key economic and institutional player in eastern France: 854 employees A turnover of EUR 430 million EUR 72 million invested in 2002 In Lorraine: Turnover: EUR 138 million Investment: EUR 44 million Page 9 / 9

10 152 users of the transmission system Today in the east of France, RTE s transmission system services: 40 production sites Example: Cattenom (EDF nuclear plant), Dombasle (ELYO co-generation plant), Kembs (EDF Hydraulic plant), Saint Avold (SETNE), Tavaux (DALKIA co-generation plant), etc. 92 industrial customers Example: steelworks, paper chemical, automobile 20 distributors 13 EDF-GDF Services centres and 7 local distribution companies In Lorraine: 39 industrial customers 6 distributors 11 production sites The Eastern network: 16,100 km of lines Extra High Voltage Lines (EHV). 3,600 km of 400 kv lines. 4,100 km of 225 kv lines. 200 km of 150 kv lines High Voltage Lines (HV). 8,200 km of 90 kv and 63 kv lines With 16,100 km of lines, Eastern France accounts for 16% of the entire national Electricity Transmission System. In Lorraine: 1,700 km of Extra-High-Voltage lines (400 kv and 225 kv) 2,580 km of High-Voltage lines (150 kv and 63 kv) Page 10 / 10