Grid connection permit process

• Code de l’energie
• Arrêté du 9 juin 2020

Grid connection for installations:
• According to Arrêté du 9 juin 2020, a grid connection request must be submitted to either local DSOs (Entreprises locales de distribution – ELD) for projects of less than 12 MW of installed capacity or to RTE for projects of more than 12 MW of installed capacity.
• The project can undergo a voluntary and non-binding preliminary grid connection study (étude exploratoire), for which the application must be sent to RTE. Within 8 days of receiving the application, RTE notifies the developer of any missing documents and 6 weeks after the application is complete the analysis is returned to the applicant.
• The following step is the application for a grid connection offer (Proposition technique et financière – PTF). Within 8 days of receiving the application, RTE notifies the developer of any missing documents and takes 3 months to complete the grid connection study, which is then returned to the applicant (art. 342-2, Code de l'Energie). This study is binding for RTE in terms of cost and timing of the operation.
• The applicant has 3 months to accept the offer upon the receipt of a certified email from RTE. The signed offer must then be returned to RTE by the applicant.
• RTE starts conducting the detailed technical studies, the administrative procedure and the required consultation for grid connection. Within 6 months of the conclusion of the administrative procedure, RTE must send the applicant a draft connection agreement art. 342-2, Code de l'Energie), which must be accepted by the applicant no later than 3 months after its reception (Art. 342-2, Code de l'Energie). Upon the acceptance, RTE has then an additional 6 months for providing the technical specifications. If the acceptance period expires, the grid connection procedure falls through.
• Before starting the operation of the installation, two documents must be signed, namely the Operation and Control Agreement (Convention d'Exploitation et de Conduite) and the Transmission System Access Contract (Contrat d'Acces au Reseau de Transport - CART). The first refers to the responsibilities of both parties in assuring that the grid connection is correctly and safely concluded, and the second refers to metering, subscribed power, planned interruptions for maintenance reasons and electricity quality.
Distribution grid connection:
• A paper or online application form must be submitted to the DSO, in which the operator is informed about the applicant decision related to injecting part or all the produced energy in the distribution grid. At this point the applicant also informs the operator relative to the utilization of feed-in tariffs. In case the applicant intends to make use of said tariffs, EDF proposes a contract.
• The DSO has 10 days to notify the applicant about the complete application after all documents are received.
• The grid connection estimate (proposition de raccordement - PDR) and the contract for grid connection, access and operation (contrat de raccordement, d'accès au réseau et d'exploitation - CRAE) are sent by the DSO within 1 to 3 months.
• When the applicant receives the offer from the DSO, a 3-months deadline is established for acceptance.
• The installation must be commissioned in no more than 2 years by the applicant after all the grid connection operation is completed by the DSO. A deadline of 18 months for commissioning is established upon the reception of the complete application by the DSO.

Gestionnaire du Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE)