CRE proposes methodology for capacity-mechanism demand curves, certification coefficients and cross-border contributions

On 8 October 2026 CRE adopted Délibération n°2026-198, proposing to the Minister of Energy a methodology for establishing demand curves and the parameters of the capacity-mechanism parametrage report, based on RTE's methodological report received 3 August 2026. The deliberation sets out methodological rules for: filière/stock certification coefficients, the 'ordre normatif' for cross-border explicit participation, net-position calculation of neighbouring countries' contribution to French security of supply, construction of the CoNE/VoLL-based demand curve (including overall price cap at 100-150% of CoNE) and its piecewise-linear elasticity, and the split of reference capacity and elasticity between the PL-4 (main, long-term) and PL-1 (secondary) auctions for the two-auction regime now applicable from the 2030-2031 delivery period. It also addresses the intermediate price cap (PPI) framework and multi-year contract volume caps.

This methodology determines how RTE's future parametrage reports (which set the actual auction parameters: volumes, prices, certification rates) must be constructed for every future capacity-mechanism delivery period, including the first long-term auction under the reformed French capacity mechanism (loi n°2025-127). Because the methodology conditions certification coefficients, cross-border contribution levels and demand-curve elasticity, it directly shapes the volume and price outcomes of the PL-4/PL-1 auctions, the competitiveness of storage and demand-response capacity, and the terms on which foreign capacities (Belgium initially, later Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland) can participate explicitly.

This is a methodology-design deliberation distinct from the companion parametrization deliberation (n°2026-199) that applies these rules to produce concrete 2030-2031 parameter values. CRE broadly endorses RTE's proposed methodology (certification approach, net-position cross-border calculation, CoNE/VoLL demand-curve construction, PL-4/PL-1 split) with no change versus the 2026-2027 single-auction methodology, but flags several forward-looking methodological gaps: (i) merging filière and stock certification coefficients into unified abaques, (ii) distortions between behind-the-meter batteries certified as demand-response versus battery-filière capacities, (iii) absence of a method to project how filière contributions evolve over time (relevant for multi-year contracts), (iv) the need for a more rigorous, stable linearization technique for demand-curve elasticity beyond the reference capacity, and (v) complexity in calibrating the 'ordre normatif' for subsidized foreign capacities given lack of a pan-European database. These are recommendations for future RTE reports rather than immediate design changes, indicating an iterative methodology that will evolve release-over-release as experience from the first long-term auction accumulates.

Code de l'énergie articles L.316-1 to L.316-13 and R.316-1 to R.316-42; Loi n°2025-127 de finances pour 2025 (art.19); Décret n°2025-1441 du 31 décembre 2025; Arrêté du 18 mars 2026 fixant les règles du mécanisme de capacité; ACER Decision n°23/2020 and n°36/2020

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