As a public utility, the electricity distribution system operator, Enedis Bretagne, is assisting the territories in the rise of renewable electricity and smart grids.
Interview with Bernard Laurans, Director of Enedis Bretagne
JGDE. What are the main missions and competences of Enedis Bretagne?
Enedis is responsible for maintaining, developing and operating the 104,000 km of low and high voltage electricity network1 in Bretagne, making it one of the longest in France. It makes the network available to users, whether they are customers, producers or suppliers of electricity. It also has expertise in project management to define the necessary work on its equipment (troubleshooting, maintenance, etc.). The goal is to make the network as robust as possible in the face of climatic hasards (wind). Enedis invests between 180 to 200 million euros a year, making it an important economic player in the region.
JGDE. What is Enedis Bretagne’s policy to accompany local authorities?
With 1,700 agents present in some thirty sites, Enedis Bretagne has been able to establish a close relationship with the territories. We support the Breton Electric Pact launched in 2010 by the Region as part of the energy transition. Our objective was to strengthen the distribution network, in order to overcome the lack of local production². Since then, 1,500 MW of renewable energy (REN) power from 20,000 electricity producers (mostly from wind and photovoltaics) have been connected to the grid. REN now accounts for 14% of regional production, with a share of self-consumption that is expected to increase rapidly. The network is ready to meet the 30% target for renewable electricity.
Enedis supports the accelerated deployment of Linky communicating meters, which enable customers to determine their actual consumption. By the end of 2017, one third of Breton households, compared with less than 20% nationally, will be equipped. The data collected will also provide useful information for the Region’s energy policy.
Finally, the company is asked to set up and control the charging stations of electric vehicles so that the power calls they generate do not impair the proper functioning of the network.
JGDE. Enedis Bretagne is at the forefront of innovation. What are the most emblematic projects?
The company is the operational pilot of SOLENN (SOLidarité ENergie iNnovation), a demonstrator of smart grids on Lorient Agglomeration. Thanks to a detailed knowledge of their consumption, 1,000 voluntary households participate in pedagogical actions of control of the electrical demand. They are also encouraged to reduce their consumption during periods of crisis on the network or by weak production to avoid power outages. The promising lessons learned from SOLENN should then be generalised throughout the country.
Enedis also participates in the SMILE project (SMart Ideas to Link Energies), a call for projects co-managed by the Bretagne and Pays de la Loire regions. The idea is to concentrate on four departments (including Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan), all the technologies linked downstream and upstream to the intelligent electricity grid, with the development of ENR and the mobility. It is a matter of creating with the partners involved in SMILE (communities, industrialists, research laboratories, etc.) a showcase of the industrial know-how in smart grids.
1- HTA: high voltage A (20,000 volts) BT: low voltage (400 volts / 230 volts).
2- Bretagne produces about 15% of its consumption.
Key figures for Enedis in Bretagne
- 2 million customers
- 20,800 new customers (2016)
- 20,000 local renewable energy producers connected to the distribution network
- 104,000 km of network (47,000 km medium voltage and 57,000 km low voltage)
- 138 substations
- 600,000 Linky meters installed (end of September 2017)
- 180 million in network investments in 2017 (connection of new customers and network improvements)
- 1,700 employees
- 70 apprentices
- Enedis is present on 30 sites in Bretagne
