2026 Event Schedule

EDF is the largest electricity producer and supplier in France and a global leader in generating low-carbon energy. Within the EDF Group, Enedis is the largest European Distribution System Operator (DSO), serving 38 million customers and managing 1.4 million kilometers of power lines in France with an excellent reliability rate. Enedis is a regulated company with a public mission managed in a total independent manner.

Customers want electricity that is safe, available, affordable and reliable. Some want it to be clean. Most of them are connected to the grid. Some require new service connections or interconnections.

Here is the question: How do we plan resilient and reliable grid interconnections to deliver excellent power quality to customers, while ensuring grid investments are sustainable, affordable and cost-effective?

We propose to share an overview of how EDF is addressing these challenges for its 40 million customers and 1.4 million kilometers of power lines.

We will present a methodology involving grid master plans and tailored investment plans. These plans are designed to prepare the infrastructure for load growth and new grid connections, prevent outages, replace aging equipment and mitigate the impact of extreme weather events on the grid.

We believe there is significant differences in the timeframes associated with planning. Grid operators design and build the infrastructure for 40 years or more, whereas some digital technologies progress and reach technological maturity in a matter of months, and customer behavior can change rapidly. For instance, the number of self-consumers in France has tripled in the last two years, exceeding 300,000, and the grid operator has updated its voltage plan to consider the dynamic integration of additional renewable energies.

Additionally, we note that extreme weather events tend to occur more frequently and cause more damage to the grid in France and its overseas departments and territories. After each event – whether a storm, snowfall, flooding or wildfire - a special investment plan is designed to adapt and rebuild the grid. Grid planning teams define the most appropriate investments to repair, mitigate and prepare for further risks.

Reliability sometimes requires redundancy, which can result in increased costs. We believe that there is a balance to be achieved between reliability and affordability, and that the grid operator can act as a trusted party to manage grid reliability for all on a large scale in a sustainable, affordable and cost-effective manner.

For instance, the grid operator works closely with stakeholders from the electricity industry, including producers, consumers and prosumers, as well as regulatory authorities, to define requirements for electrical equipment interconnected to the grid. We will see how laboratory and field tests are important for ensuring that interconnected equipment is safe and will not cause major disturbances for other consumers interconnected to the grid. Occasionally, field testing campaigns may be necessary to ensure compliance with the set requirements.

Reliability and resiliency necessitate observability, automation, command and control to monitor grid assets and their status. The grid system operator needs information and data to operate the grid, perform predictive maintenance and restore power as soon as possible after an outage. Therefore, the information and communication technologies that grid operators rely on must also be secure, reliable and resilient. Additionally, the grid operator must share information with customers, regulators and local authorities in a fast-paced environment where people want to know what is happening and when power will be restored.

We propose to share some experiences and practices regarding how these challenges are addressed in France. We look forward to discussing these topics further with the audience.