Key Benefits:
The Energy Regulatory Commission was seized by the Minister on April 20, 2005 Delegate to industry, of a draft decree adopted for the application of Article 18 of Act No. 2004-803 of 9 August 2004 Relating to the public service of electricity and gas and electricity and gas undertakings, which sets the rates of the tariff contribution on the transport and distribution of electricity and natural
. To ensure the financing of the specific pension rights acquired as at 31 December 2004 due to personnel under the electricity and gas industries affected by the regulated transport and distribution activities Of electricity and natural gas, as well as in the management of missions Public service whose expenses are offset by the CSPE.
The rates of the rate contribution subject to the notice of the CRE are:
10 % for electricity transportation benefits;
20.4 % for the benefit of Distribution of electricity;
5.3 % for natural gas transportation benefits;
15.7 % for natural gas distribution benefits.
The CRE makes the following observations.
1. The calculation methods
The rates were calculated as the quotient of the annual specific duties to be financed, evaluated by the National Fund for Electricity and Gas Industries (CNIEG), by the base, constituted, for Electricity, from the non-tax fixed part of the use of public transport networks and distribution and, for the gas, the non-tax share of the rates of use of the transmission and distribution networks, linked to the drawing-up and Independent of actual consumption.
A. -Base
The amount of bases selected for the calculation of the rate contribution rates is consistent with the fixed share level resulting from the current network utilization rates.
CRE Points out, however, that any change in the rate of use of the networks is likely to have an impact on the bases of the tariff contribution and that, therefore, the above rates may no longer be adapted with the entry into Strength in future rates.
B. -Annual fees to be financed
The annual fees to be funded for the calculation of the rate have been calculated as an average of the fees resulting from the estimates for the next five years, in accordance with the The provisions of Article 18 of the Act of 9 August 2004.
However, the distribution by activity of the right to be financed, fixed by Decree No. 2005-322 of 5 April 2005, does not reflect the reality of the rights to be financed solely from activities
Distribution of rights between EDF activities:
The annual fees to be financed were assessed by taking into account, in particular, the distribution by activity of the specific rights, as established by Decree No. 2005-322 of 5 April 2005 on the assessment and distribution of
Or, this allocation, fixed by the decree, is not fully in conformity with the provisions of Article 17 of the Act of 9 August 2004, which defines the specific rights to be financed by the Tariff contribution such as transportation and distribution activities Electricity and gas as well as " Activities for the management of public service missions whose expenses are offset [by the CSPE] ".
The distribution table annexed to the decree and established pursuant to those provisions shall show that the specific rights passed - Calculated from the payroll-the agents assigned to production in the non-interconnected areas have been charged, in full, with the regulated activities.
Or, only the part of the staff assigned to a public service mission and whose Salary costs are offset in the CSPE framework should have been used in the calculation of the Specific fees financed by the tariff contribution.
The imputed charge is therefore incorrect. It overestimates the rights attributable to the distribution and financed by the tariff contribution. The CRE notes, however, that the resulting impact is limited, as it represents a total of approximately 120 M, which is, on average, half a percentage point of the fees charged to the distribution.
Distribution of rights between Gaz de France:
For Gaz de France, the distribution by activity of the specific duties, as established by Decree No. 2005-322 of 5 April 2005, shows an allocation to the distribution activity not in accordance with the accounting dissociation principles Validated by the CRE.
In the context of accounting dissociation, the payroll assigned to the distribution activity includes, in particular, the total salary costs of the officers assigned to the management of the clientele. Half of these costs are then invoiced, according to an internal protocol, to the trading activity, so that the distribution activity and trading activity support, equally, the salary costs related to customer management.
Or, The allocation of the right to be financed was made on the basis of an allocation of these costs up to 60 % for the distribution activity, for the years 1950 to 2002.
The result is an overestimation of 1.25 % of the rights to be financed by the Tariff contribution for distribution. Therefore, the CAT rate should be adjusted accordingly.
Distribution of externalized or provisioned amounts:
The amounts externalised or provisioned by the companies of the branch before the pension reform of the EGI agents and financed by the regulated activities should have been taken into account in the calculation of the specific rights to be paid. Financed by the tariff contribution.
The CRE examined, in particular, the amounts externalised by EDF and Gaz de France, which have subscribed to various insurance companies for life insurance contracts guaranteeing part of the Old-age benefits to be paid to employees after their departure in inactivity. The amounts so " Externalized " Stand at 3.887 Md and 1.928 Md. The regulated activities contributed to the financing of these externalised funds, of 236 M for the transmission of electricity, 1 088 M for the distribution of electricity, 173 M for the transport of gas and 579 M for the distribution of electricity.
The CRE considers that, in application of the accounting dissociation principles of which it is guarantor, the share of outsourced or funded funds financed by the regulated activities should not be reallocated to activities Competitive, with the exception of having to analyze as a cross-subsidy. This quota should contribute to the exclusive financing of the pension rights of the staff assigned to the regulated activities.
Article 21 of the Act of 9 August 2004 provides that the reserves already constituted by undertakings in respect of their Retirement commitments cannot be transferred to the CNIEG. Therefore, the share of the externalized or funded funds financed by the regulated activities must be deducted from the fees to be financed by the tariff contribution and the rates of the CTA should be recalculated accordingly.
C. -The rates derived from the calculations
The rates set by the draft decree are in line with those resulting from the strict application of the average annual fee to be financed-as assessed by the CNIEG-on The contribution base, with the exception of the rate applicable to the electricity transmission activity: The rate laid down in the draft decree is 10 %, whereas the rate calculated from the figures used by the administration is 6.42 %.
This is due to the fact that the minimum rate laid down in Article 18 of the Law of 9 August 2004 for the contribution based on the electricity transmission rate is 10 %. The Order, therefore, cannot, without disregarding the legislative provisions, set a lower rate.
The CRE therefore invites the Government to make the appropriate arrangements as soon as possible in order to introduce a change Article 18 of the Act of 9 August 2004 to amend the range of rates of rate of contribution applicable to the transport activity of electricity.
In addition, the potential shortfall incurred by RTE during the period Transition, due to the application of a non-compliant rate, shall be the subject of A return, in order to ensure the neutrality of the device.
Finally, the proposed rates being, in particular for the distribution of electricity and gas, very close to the lower bounds of the rate ranges laid down in Article 18-V of the Law of 9 In August 2004, the CRE considers it necessary to revise these ranges, so that rates are at the centre of the ranges.
2. Difficulties in setting up the tariff contribution during the transitional period
The tariff contribution is applicable on January 1, 2005.
In order not to have users twice Networks the pension expenses corresponding to the specific past rights of the agents assigned to the regulated activities-once by the rate of use of the networks, another time by the tariff contribution, which is in addition to the total invoiced - Article 50 of the Act of 9 August 2004 provided for a transitional period, current " For non-eligible customers, up to the entry into force of the first [regulated] tariff published after 1 January 2005 and for the other users of the networks, until the entry into force of the first corresponding rate of use Published after January 1, 2005. During this period, the amount of the tariff contribution " Is deducted from the user's network invoice or, in the case of a non-eligible customer, the invoice for the purchase of electricity or gas. "
The application of this provision raises two problems in the gas sector Natural.
A. -Rates for the use of natural gas distribution networks
The publication of the decree fixing the tariffs for the use of distribution networks, on the basis of the CRE's proposal of 24 December 2003, took place on 14 August 2003. January 2005, 13 days after the deadline for the transitional period.
An amendment to extend the transitional period, tabled in the framework of the draft Energy Guidance Act, is currently under consideration by the Parliament.
This change of date is necessary for the transient device Applies without difficulty In default, users of gas distribution networks would have twice the financial burden of the applicable pension expenses.
B. -Rates for the use of natural gas transmission networks
Operators Gaz de France Réseau Transport et Total Infrastructures Gaz France implemented as of 1 January 2005, before the publication of the decree Corresponding, the rates of use of the natural gas transmission networks proposed by the CRE on 27 October 2004.
Contrary to the tariffs still in force, the rates proposed by the CRE on 27 October 2004 take account of the decline in Operators' expenses, linked to the entry into force on 1 January 2005 of the reform of the
this context, the transitional provisions will have a financial impact for the different end customer as they apply to the transport rate in force or to that applied since 1 January 2005 by Operators.
The CRE points out, therefore, the urgency of issuing the proposed tariff-of-use order for the transportation networks proposed in October 2004, which would end this situation.
In all cases, the CRE Recalls that the objective of the transitional arrangement desired by the legislator is Not penalize network users. Consequently, as long as the tariffs for the use of networks taking into account the financial impact of the pension financing reform of the IEG have not entered into force, the operation of the tariff contribution must be strictly Neutral to the previous situation.
3. The rates of the tariff contribution must be shown on the final customer's invoice
The law of 9 August 2004 provides (art. 18, II) that the tariff contribution is levied in addition to the rate of use of public transportation and distribution networks, prices or selling rates to final consumers, as the case may be. As with the provisions in force in respect of VAT, local electricity taxes and the contribution to the electricity utility charges (CSPE), the CRE considers that the rates of this tariff contribution and their amount must Appear on the invoice of all final consumers.
In light of the above observations, the CRE issues an unfavourable opinion on the draft order concerning the rates of the tariff contribution on transportation benefits and Distribution of electricity and natural gas submitted to it by the Minister Industry. It considers, in fact, that:
i) the correction of the distribution of rights between the activities of EDF;
ii) the correction of the distribution of rights between the activities of Gaz de France;
iii) the deduction of the rights to be financed by the tariff contribution For the regulated activities of the share of externalised or provisioned amounts;
(iv) the change in the rates involved in these corrections and deductions;
v) the verification of the rights to be financed for the ELD;
(vi) the Revision of the rate ranges provided for in Article 18-V of the Act of 9 August 2004, so that the rates of the The subject tariff contribution of this notice is at the centre of these ranges;
vii) the extension by law of the transitional period for the tariff contribution of natural gas distribution networks;
viii) the Publication within the shortest time frame of the Natural Gas Transmission System Use Tariff Order;
ix) the rate and amount of the tariff contribution on the invoice of all final consumers.
Done at Paris, 28 April 2005.
For the Regulatory Commission Energy:
The President,
J. Syrota
