Following the French government’s announcement on January 13, 2022 of an additional allocation of 20 TWh of electricity to be sold at a regulated price (ARENH volumes) for 2022, EDF had announced that it was considering any measure to protect its interests.[1] In this context, the Chairman and CEO (Président-Directeur Général) of EDF had indicated at its annual general meeting that he had submitted a preliminary administrative recourse to the French State to request the withdrawal of the Decree[2] and the Orders of March 2022 relating to this allocation.[3]
Following an in-depth legal analysis, and in light of the losses incurred as a result of the Decree and Orders dated March 11, 12 and 25, 2022, EDF today filed a legal claim with the Conseil d'Etat (the French administrative supreme court), as well as a claim for indemnification, for an amount estimated to date at 8.34 billion euros, with the French State.
[1] See PR “Exceptional measures announced by the French Government” released on January 13, 2022.
[2] Decree n°2022-342 of March 11, 2022, defining the specific terms and conditions for the allocation of an additional volume of electricity that can be allocated in 2022, on an exceptional basis, as part of the regulated access to historic nuclear power (ARENH).
[3] The Order of March 11, 2022, issued in application of Article L. 337-16 of the French Energy Code and setting the price of additional electricity volumes to be sold under the exceptional delivery period introduced by decree n°2022-342 of March 11, 2022 defining the specific terms and conditions for the allocation of an additional volume of electricity that can be allocated in 2022, on an exceptional basis, as part of the regulated access to historic nuclear power (ARENH).
The Order of March 11, 2022, setting the maximum overall volume of electricity to be sold by Electricité de France under the regulated access to historic nuclear power, issued in application of Article L. 336-2 of the French Energy Code.
The Order of March 12, 2022, on the terms and conditions for the sale of additional capacity guarantees in connection with the complementary ARENH delivery period starting on April 1, 2022, issued in application of Article R. 335-69 of the French Energy Code.
The Order of March 25, 2022, amending the Order of April 28, 2011, issued in application of Article 4-1 of law 2000-108 of February 10, 2000, on the modernization and development of public electricity services.