Spotlight on France

As shown by the multi-year programme for energy (PPE) of June 2020 8 https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/20200422%20Programmation%20pluriannuelle%20de%20l%27e%CC%81nergie.pdf , the development of individual self-consumption in France is now a reality after accelerating growth in recent years. The French Government has set a target of 200,000 self-consumption photovoltaic sites by 2023, including 50 collective self-consumption operations 9 https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/20200422%20Programmation%20pluriannuelle%20de%20l%27e%CC%81nergie.pdf .

Individual self-consumption allows for a producer to consume a part or all of the electricity produced by its own facility, as production and consumption both happen on the same location (article L315-1 of the Energy Code). Third party investment is authorised thanks to Alinea 3 of Article L.315-1 of the French Energy Code which provides that the plant of the self-producer may be owned or managed by a third party. The third party may be entrusted with the installation and management, including maintenance, of the generating facility, provided that it remains subject to the instructions of the self-producer. The third party itself is not considered to be a self-producer.

Self-consumption is collective when the electricity supply involves one or more producers and one or more consumers gathered within a legal entity and when electricity extraction and injection points are in the same building, including residential buildings. The extraction and injection points can also be located on the low-voltage network if they meet specific criteria’s regarding geographical proximity (article L315-2 of the energy code). 10 https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000043213495

The network access tariff, also called the “TURPE” is paid by all electricity consumers for the use of the public electricity network and includes a fixed part, based on the subscribed power and a variable part, based on the electricity consumed. As individual self-consumption without any injection does not imply electricity transit through the public network, individuals do not pay the network access tariff for the kWh self-consumed. On the other hand, for individual self-consumption with injection or for collective self-consumption, the producer must pay the TURPE. Individual self-consumption also benefits from preferential tax treatment regarding the excise duty on electricity. The TICFE is the national tax on final electricity consumption. It must be paid by all electricity consumers. An operator whose production does not exceed certain thresholds and who consumes it in its entirety should not have to pay the excise duty on electricity according to Articles L.312-13 and Article L.312-17 of the CIBS.