Optimisation and trading

The fact that electricity cannot be stored means that EDF must be able to provide exactly the right quantity of electricity to meet customer demand at every moment of every day, and at the best-possible costs. Optimisation aims to forecast this demand and constantly achieve the most efficient balance between all the resources available to meet it (generating capacity, long-term supply contracts, wholesale market purchasing, etc.).

More than 400 people share responsibility for optimising EDF electricity generation in France. The work they do allows EDF to deliver on its supply commitments to customers, at the same time as covering physical, financial and market risks.

Optimising the EDF asset portfolio secures and maximises gross margin at every stage of electricity generation and marketing.

All of which is made possible by acting on the many levers available for asset flexibility upstream (management of water for hydropower, scheduling generating plant maintenance downtime, etc.), and downstream (load shedding, etc.), as well as the constant quest to identify the best buying and selling opportunities in wholesale markets via EDF Trading.

As the Group's interface to the world's wholesale energy markets, EDF Trading provides the full range of optimisation, risk management and trading services for wholesale energy markets. This Group company is a leading player in the wholesale markets for electricity, gas and coal. It also operates in the LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), freight and environmental products markets.

• EDF Trading is one of the most powerful players in the European wholesale markets for electricity and gas. EDF Trading acts on behalf of EDF to manage long-term electricity export contracts and plays a leading role in optimising the energy generation portfolio and its coverage. EDF Trading also manages the gas-related physical assets of the Group, with particular emphasis on production, transport, regasification, long-term supply and storage.
• EDF Trading operates in Europe's carbon trading, biomass, green energy and climate derivatives markets. It manages an extensive portfolio of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and trades a broad range of environmental products, especially renewable energy certificates.
• This EDF subsidiary company offers a comprehensive range of liquefied natural gas services, including supply, delivery and allocation to the appropriate networks.
• It runs fully integrated coal and freight operations fed from multiple sources of supply worldwide.
• With a significant presence in the energy markets of North America, EDF Trading is one of the largest providers of energy management services to electricity generators in the USA and Canada.

Optimisation and energy trading are as essential to the security of EDF electricity supply as they are to maximising its gross margin and forecasting the forward development of markets.