French power utility Electricite de France has spun out its electricity transmission grid operating division RTE into a wholly owned subsidiary.
According to the French energy giant, RTE, a division of the EDF Group, has become RTE EDF Transport, a subsidiary wholly owned by the EDF Group. The new entity will now be responsible for the largest grid in Europe, consisting of 100,000 km of high and extra high voltage power lines.
The development comes as a requirement of recent French government legislation enacted on August 9, 2004 designed to fulfill EU directives on liberalization of the energy market. The spin off was finalized at EDF’s Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting on August 31, 2005.
RTE EDF Transport will continue doing the work previously carried out by the RTE, which includes the operation, maintenance and development of the public electricity transmission system; maintenance of the system’s safety and ensuring supply matches demand at any time.