The CRE approves RTE's market rules for demand response

The Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) approved, by deliberation no. 2026-211 of October 21, 2026, a new version of the general provisions of RTE’s market rules as well as a temporary derogation for the calculation of reliability indicators for the NEBCO system. The text is published in the Official Journal no. 0250 of October 25, 2026, under reference NOR CREE2628458X. In particular, it establishes the methods for calculating financial flows between demand response operators and suppliers of the activated sites.

The referral to the CRE occurred via a letter from RTE received on October 16, 2026. The legal framework consists of articles L. 271-1 to L. 271-4 and R. 271-1 to R. 271-9 of the energy code, supplemented by article L. 134-1, 9°, which entrusts the CRE with specifying the rules for the valuation of demand response. The deliberation was adopted in session by Emmanuelle WARGON, president, Anthony CELLIER, Nadia FAURE, and Didier REBISCHUNG, commissioners.

A payment scale adapted to the new capacity mechanism

The general provisions specify the formulas for the flat-rate scale owed by a demand response operator or an adjustment actor to the supplier of the remotely metered site operated within the “regulated model.” These formulas still referred to the Regulated Access to Historical Nuclear Electricity (ARENH) mechanism and the former capacity mechanism. Following the deliberation of December 17, 2025, which addressed the consequences of the end of ARENH, RTE is now returning with the announced second step.

The approved changes are as follows:

• adaptation of the capacity obligation calculation to the delivery periods of the new mechanism, which now span two calendar years;
• transition to a biannual update of the scales, from January 1 to September 30 of year N, then from October 1 to December 31 of year N, compared to an annual update;
• adaptation of the reference ranges for average energy prices, aligned with these new deadlines;
• update of the definition of the capacity price and the calendar deadlines.

For profiled sites, the scale remains indexed to the energy component of the regulated electricity sales tariff (TRVE), the evolution of whose calculation method already absorbs the reform of the capacity mechanism. The new calculation method for the remotely metered scale comes into effect on November 1, 2026.

Panel method: expanded learning and postponed schedule

The panel method, introduced in September 2025 for the verification of actual performance for profiled curtailment entities, is also being revised. RTE has obtained an extension of the learning period to time steps following activation, whereas it was previously limited to prior periods, which restricted the pool of data exploited by Enedis.

The schedule for opening to networks other than that of Enedis is, however, postponed: the deadline moves from July 1, 2026, to November 1, 2027. The cause is the development delays of the information systems of Enedis and the ORE agency, linked to the difficulty of retrieving data from other distribution network operators and local distribution companies (ELD). The CRE does not oppose this but asks both parties to finalize these developments “as soon as possible.” Furthermore, Enedis is exempt from transmitting reference curves by the 19th calendar day of month M+1 for modulations of month M.

A waiver strictly limited to the end of 2025

The reliability indicator of a curtailment operator corresponds to the ratio of actual curtailment volumes to the volumes to be achieved during years N-2 and N-3; it is nominative and published on the RTE Services Portal. The approved waiver excludes the results of the actual performance verification for September, October, November, and December 2025 from the calculation of the 2027 and 2028 indicators for entities that used the panel method during one or more of these months.

The CRE considers that the results were “difficult to predict” during the initial adoption of the method: the reference curve requires confidential data held by Enedis alone, and the associated algorithms are complex. It refuses, however, to extend the measure to 2026, considering that after four months of implementation, stakeholders were able to master the tool or change methods.

Consultations and scope

RTE’s proposal on general provisions was submitted to stakeholders from July 9 to August 28, 2026, with a single response, which advocated for maintaining an evolution on January 1 and for a scale covering all of the supplier’s hedging costs. The CRE judged the diversification of retail offers to still be “moderate” and the scale to be adequate. The CRE’s consultation on the waiver, from September 22 to October 6, 2026, received six responses, five of which were in favor of an extension to 2026, which was not granted.

The amendments to Chapter 0 of the market rules will come into effect on November 1, 2026, and will be published on the RTE website. For demand response operators, the challenge is twofold: a payment scale recalculated twice a year, which alters the predictability of their flows with suppliers, and a reliability indicator that determines the maximum valorizable modulation capacity, for which the 2025 history is neutralized for two campaigns.