National Power Control Center (CNES)

After a series of black outs in the United States and in Europe, the European Commission presented in December 2003 a proposal of Directive related to Security of Electricity Supply and Infrastructure Investment with a package of measures aiming at avoiding such problems.

The European Parliament is currently examining this proposal and also organised a hearing on this field last 29 November in Brussels. The EEF held a dinner-debate in Strasbourg on 19th November 2003 and had a dinner-debate on 22nd February 2005 with EURELECTRIC on the same topic.

The Directive Proposal underlines the key role of the Transmission System Operators in this field and the suggested visit is a practical example of how a transmission system operator deals day by day with the complexity of electricity exchanges and adds a concrete illustration to the debate. RTE manages the largest network in Europe and holds a central position as transmission point to and from the Iberian Peninsula and the British isles, providing interconnections between France and neighbouring countries.

It is also planned to take the opportunity of this visit in Paris to organise a meeting with members of the French Parliament in order to discuss issues of common interest.
 
Agenda :
Welcome reception at the CNES in Saint-Denis 
Presentation by Pierre Bornard, RTE Managing Director Power System Division Guided tour of the Centre and discussion     
  
Reception at the Senat 
Welcome by Henri Revol, President of the Energy working group from the French Senate Discussion     
 
Our meeting concluded, inter alia, with the common desire expressed to see this kind of meeting occur more often and in a more methodical manner in order to enable the interested members of parliament – national parliamentary representatives on the one hand and MEPs on the other – to exchange their points of view on current energy issues, and to discuss these views.