Questioning the ARENH mechanism

During the presentation of its results for the first quarter of 2017 on 9 May 2017, EDF highlighted the negative impact on turnover in France of ARENH (Regulated Access to Historic Nuclear Electricity) sales and market activity: -49 million € allocated ‘mainly to production and sourcing for ARENH subscription’; and causing Xavier Girre (CFO EDF) to state the following: ‘We’re deeming it also necessary and equitable to reform the ARENH mechanism so as to prevent it from being as biased as it is today’.

Having been established by the NOME [New Organisation of the Market for Electricity] law of 7 December 2010 and in place since 1st July 2011, the ARENH mechanism is already an old story. It even seemed promised to become obsolete with the wholesale markets which, since December 2014, have maintained their position at levels below the price set for the ARENH (with the notable exception at the end of 2016) to the extent that the ARENH had not been the subject of any demand for the 2016 supply year.

Why revive this debate when a new decree on 21 March 2017 further framing the mechanism has just been introduced and has demonstrated its effectiveness during the window of 16 May 2017? Let’s analyse the current situation, put this third parameter of the price for electric energy into context and define its challenges.

First and foremost, let’s get back to the principle:

For a transitional period from 1st July 2011 to 31 December 2025, the ARENH was established ‘in order to ensure the freedom of choice for the electricity supplier all while benefiting the attractiveness of the territory and all consumers in the French electro-nuclear facilities competitiveness’. The total volume provided is limited to 100TWh/year.

The ARENH product is annual by definition; however, in order to allow suppliers to adjust their needs according to the evolution of their portfolio, subscription takes place at two half-yearly subscription dates (November and May). With the aim of strengthening its annual nature and limiting arbitration opportunities, the system provides for a so-called ‘monotony’ clause forcing suppliers to ensure that their demand moves in the same direction during two consecutive half-yearly subscription dates. (Clause reinforced by the Decree of 21 March 2017)

The outcome:

The figure below (excerpt from the Competition Authority report dated 8/2/2017) is a good illustration of the success and effectiveness of the system as well as its correlation with wholesale market prices:

The mechanism’s rational has, in fact, been disrupted since, against the expectations of the 2010 legislator, the price of the ARENH is above market prices. Such disruption is even more significant when, in the space of a few months, market prices alternate being strongly below, strongly above, and then again strongly below the ARENH level!

The behaviour of the players during the window of 16 May 2017 displayed the effectiveness of the new decree: the volumes ordered for the first half of 2017 have been renewed for the second half, observing the product’s annual logic, whereas with the BL Q3 market prices: 32.15€/MWh, BL Q4: 42.85€/MWh and capacity to 10,000€/MW, the ARENH was out of the money by~4€/MWh!

So, we’re not too sure which ‘bias’ was implied (commercial asymmetry between EDF and alternative suppliers: payment periods,  dealing with the volume limit, portfolio adjustment, penalties…?). On the other hand, it seems more important to us that the debate now focuses on the issue of consistency among the 3 parameters defined by the NOME law, namely: market prices, the capacity price and the ARENH.

 ‘With nuclear production representing over 70% of the total, two items become paramount: (i) that the ARENH regains a level reflecting the complete cost of this French nuclear generation (see our article (1) on this subject), and (ii) that the capacity market matures to ensure the competitiveness of the ARENH (including capacity guarantees) vis-à-vis the wholesale market.

(1) See ‘An Opportunity to seize’

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Profesional Experience & Education

Diego graduated in Political Economy at King’s College University (London – 2021). He started his professional career in a family business in Madrid as an operations manager. Diego then studied a Master in Management and Master in Computer Science at IE University (Madrid – 2022), during which he participated as an Information Technology (IT) intern in a startup. In May 2023, Diego joined the HES team as an intern specialised in programming models. In his first project, he developed a software tool for modelling the unavailability of the French nuclear fleet. Afterwards, Diego has also participated in the development of new software tools for modelling price curves, generation asset performance and other topics related to the energy market. 

Diego Marroquin

Junior Consultant

Diego Marroquín

Profesional Experience

Céline joined Haya Energy Solutions in November 2021 as marketing and administration manager. She had a first professional experience in the tourism sector as a social media manager. At HES, her activities are focused on the development of the company’s visibility at European level through: commercial actions, content marketing and development of brand strategy. Céline is also involved in the management of the company’s communication: optimisation of the website (WordPress & Elementor), LinkedIn, publication of the monthly newsletter and the organisation of conferences. Céline participates in energy projects with the clients and acts as coordinator and project manager. Finally, she is in charge of administration (accounting, expenses management, invoicing).   

Education

Céline graduated in Spanish and English Philology at La Sorbonne (France – 2018) and holds a Master’s degree in Project Management and Cultural Tourism (Clermont-Ferrand/ Buenos Aires – 2021). 

Céline Haya Sauvage

Marketing Responsible

Céline Sauvage

Investment Advice

“Decarbonization of the Energy and Transport sectors is arguably today’s main economic driver for the industry.”

Profesional Experience

His career started in civil engineering as a Project Manager in France, Martinique and Australia. Afterwards, he became the General Manager of a subsidiary in Venezuela. In 1992, he established Dalkia in Germany (district heating, cogeneration, and partnerships) and represented Véolia in Thailand. In 2000, he opened the commercial office of Endesa in France to take advantage of the liberalized retail market. From 2006, as a development Manager at Endesa France, he led Endesa’s plan for Combined Cycle generation in France and developed the wind and PV portfolio of Snet at the same time. Philippe Boulanger worked for 3 years at E.ON’s headquarters coordinating the company´s activities in France. He was strongly involved in the French hydro concession renewal project. As a Senior Vice President – Project Director at Solvay Energy Services from April 2012 to February 2014 he was in charge of the H2/Power to gas and European direct market access deployment projects. Philippe has been an HES expert since 2014.

Education

Philippe Boulanger holds engineering degrees both from the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale des Ponts & Chaussées (France) and has a combined experience of more than 25 years in energy and infrastructure. In addition to English, Mr. Boulanger is fluent in French, German & Spanish.

Philippe Boulanger

Electricity Expert

HES-Philippe-Boulanger

“The world is changing. New investors pay particular attention to the energy sector while historical actors adapt their position to the market.”

Profesional Experience

Antonio started his career in the electricity sector in 1991 working as a member of the General Manager’s team at Sevillana de Electricidad (Spain). In 1997, he was appointed head of commercial regulation at Endesa Distribución. In 2000, he joined the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) department of Endesa Europe. He was appointed Managing Director of Endesa Power Trading Ltd (UK) in 2003. A year later, he became responsible for energy management at SNET (France). In 2008, he was appointed Managing Director of SNET (France). In 2009, he became Director of Corporate Development at E.ON France. In 2011, he founded Haya Energy Solutions (HES), a consulting firm focused on optimising the energy management of consumers, producers and retailers of gas and electricity. From 2015 to 2018, Antonio combined the consulting activity at HES with the general management of 2 production facilities in France (2 CCGTs x 410MW), owned by KKR. At the end of 2018, he joined Asterion Industrial Partners, an infrastructure investment fund, as an operating partner. Antonio currently devotes most of his efforts to the Asterion Portfolio, while advising through HES companies in the energy sector in France, Italy, Germany, UK and Spain. 

Education

Antonio graduated from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros of Seville (Spain) and holds an MBA degree from Deusto University (Spain). 

Antonio Haya

CEO