| Formation: | February 10, 2000 |
| Abbreviation: | CRE |
| Type: | General public administration |
| Location Country: | France |
| Leader Name: | Emmanuelle Wargon |
| Website: | https://www.cre.fr/ |
The (CRE, or French Energy Regulatory Commission under its official English title) is an independent body that regulates the French electricity and gas markets. It is a member of the European Union organisation ACER and the all-European CEER (Council of European Energy Regulators).[1] [2]
The commission was established by the laws of February 10, 2000, related to the modernization and development of the public electricity service, originally named "Commission de régulation de l'électricité" (Electricity Regulatory Commission), and by the law of January 3, 2003, concerning the gas and electricity markets and the public energy service. These laws transposed into French legislation the European directives of December 19, 1996, and June 22, 1998.[3] The second law opened the gas market and extended to this sector the powers that the (CRE) already had over the electricity market.
These directives, making up the "energy package," organize the liberalization of the energy market at the European Community level by ensuring:
To ensure transparency and non-discrimination in access to public electricity networks, the commission decided on April 7, 2004, to set up a technical reference framework for the managers of public electricity networks.[4]
According to the law of December 7, 2006, "the Energy Regulatory Commission contributes, for the benefit of final consumers, to the proper functioning of the electricity and natural gas markets. It ensures, in particular, that the conditions of access to electricity and natural gas transport and distribution networks do not hinder the development of competition. It monitors, for electricity and natural gas, the transactions carried out between suppliers, traders, and producers, the transactions carried out on organized markets, as well as exchanges across borders. It ensures the consistency of the offers from suppliers, traders, and producers with their economic and technical constraints."[5]
At its inception, the CRE was composed of six members appointed for a non-renewable six-year term: three, including the president, appointed by decree—therefore by the government—and the other three appointed respectively by the president of the Senate, the president of the National Assembly, and the president of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council.[6] The law of January 3, 2003, increased this number to seven: two members, including the president, appointed by decree, two others appointed by the president of the National Assembly, two by the president of the Senate, and the last by the president of the Economic and Social Council.
The law of December 7, 2006, altered the board of commissioners by appointing two vice-presidents from among the commissioners designated by the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, and by adding two new commissioners representing consumers, appointed by decree, which then brought the number of members to nine.[5]
The new board of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), established by the law on the new organization of the electricity market (NOME law), now consists of five members, one president, and four commissioners who serve full-time:
Thus, Emmanuelle Wargon was appointed president of the CRE by Emmanuel Macron on August 16, 2022, for a six-year term. She is accompanied on the board by four commissioners:
The presidents of the CRE since its creation are: