Glossary
Alphabetical list
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B alance sheet forecast :
Mediumand long-termdiagnosis of the balance between electricity supply and demand, and assessment of needs for new generation capacities to ensure ongoing reliability of supply. Under the terms of Article 6 of the Act passed by French Parliament on 10 February, 2000, RTE is required to draw up a balance sheet forecast every two years.
C IGRE :
Conseil international des grands réseaux électriques. Association founded in 1921, with fiftytwo member countries. Its role: to develop technical knowledge, to exchange and disseminate information, and offer solutions to technical problems concerning large high voltage electric systems.
COMEX :
Executive Committee.
CRE :
Commission de régulation de l'énergie. French Energy Regulation Commission. Independent administrative authority established by Act of French Parliament passed on 10 February, 2000. The key duty of the CRE is to monitor the gas and electricity market to see that it is running properly, without any form of discrimination or crossed subsidy or any unfair competition.
CURTE :
Comité des utilisateurs du réseau de transport d'électricité. Electricity transmission network users' committee. The forum for dialogue between RTE and its customers.
CWE :
Central Western Europe.
D istribution (networks) :
Distribution networks operate downstream of the transmission network, providing power to end users at voltages less than or equal to 50,000 volts (domestic customers, local authorities, SME/SMIs).
E HV (extra high voltage) :
Power line with voltage of 225 kV or 400 kV.
Electricity quality :
The level of the quality of the electricity supplied to the network, assessed on the basis of the frequency and duration of long and short outages, and also on voltage wave quality.
Electricity supplier :
A player on the electricity market supplying at least one end customer with power either generated by the supplier or bought on the market.
Electricity transmission network :
Network transmitting high and extra-high voltage electricity from power plants to distribution networks and industrial sites with direct connections. It consists of the greater transmission network and interconnection network (400 kV and 225 kV) and regional distribution networks (225 kV, 150 kV, 90 kV and 63 kV).
ERDF :
French electricity distribution network, subsidiary of EDF, founded on 1 January 2008, to separate distribution activities (public service with monopoly) from production and sales activities in the EDF Group.
ETSO :
European Transmission System Operators. Association of electricity transmission system operators in Europe.
G Wh (gigawatt-hour) :
Million kWh. Unit of measure of electricity.
H V (high voltage line) :
Power line with voltage of 63 kV, 90 kV or,more rarely, 150 kV.
L DC :
Local Distribution Companies.
M egawatt (MW) :
Thousand kW Unit of power.
P AP :
Programme d'accompagnement de projet. Project support programme: this system supports local or regional initiatives on territories that are affected by a project for a new or renewed overhead line.
T rader :
Dealer buying and selling electricity.
TSO :
Transport system operator. In France, RTE.
TWh (terawatt-hour) :
Billion kWh. Unit of power.
U CTE :
Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity. This association provides technical co-ordination between electricity transmission network operators interconnected in continental Europe.
