{ "schemaVersion": 1, "contentDigest": "15b977c7a5aa9558e9431db188e84a8886347730fffeae9f5de858b8c6574aa7", "id": "news-oct25-france-cre-tempo-red-day-method-2026", "language": "en", "interfaceLanguage": "en", "url": "https://voltformer.com/news/france-cre-tempo-red-day-selection-method-october-2026", "slug": "france-cre-tempo-red-day-selection-method-october-2026", "category": "policy-standards", "publishDate": "2026-10-22", "sourceName": "Commission de régulation de l’énergie (CRE)", "sourceUrl": "https://www.cre.fr/actualites/toute-lactualite/la-cre-decide-de-faire-evoluer-la-methode-de-selection-des-jours-rouges-tempo.html", "readingTimeMinutes": 4, "tags": [ "France", "Electricity", "Demand response", "Tariffs", "Grid operations", "Policy update" ], "content": { "title": "France’s CRE changes how Tempo red days are selected", "summary": "The regulator will use the capacity mechanism’s peak-period selection method, exclude 24 and 31 December, and eventually allow some red days to be announced two days ahead after system updates.", "tags": [ "France", "Electricity", "Demand response", "Tariffs", "Grid operations", "Policy update" ], "sections": [ { "heading": "A tariff signal for shifting demand", "paragraphs": [ "France’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) announced on 22 October that it would change the method used to select Tempo electricity tariff red days. Since 2014, grid operator RTE has selected 22 red days and 43 white days for the signal. Suppliers use Tempo as one basis for demand-response offers, which give customers a reason to shift or reduce consumption on designated days. Under the earlier approach, selection sought to maximize residual consumption, defined by CRE as consumption minus non-dispatchable generation. The regulator’s decision concerns the selection process for the signal; it does not change the reported number of red or white days. The underlying deliberation is dated 21 October and was posted the following day." ], "sources": [ { "name": "CRE news release", "url": "https://www.cre.fr/actualites/toute-lactualite/la-cre-decide-de-faire-evoluer-la-methode-de-selection-des-jours-rouges-tempo.html" }, { "name": "CRE deliberation 2026-189", "url": "https://www.cre.fr/documents/deliberations/missions-des-gestionnaires-de-reseaux-delectricite-relatives-aux-tarifs-a-effacement-de-type-tempo.html" } ] }, { "heading": "What prompted the review", "paragraphs": [ "CRE said the previous method had selected red days effectively through winter 2024–25, but the particularly mild 2025–26 winter raised concerns about the pattern it produced. In March, 13 red weekdays in a row, excluding weekends, were selected to reach the annual total even though those dates did not have high residual consumption. The 31 December was also selected. Although residual consumption was high on that date, the choice of New Year’s Eve generated strong dissatisfaction among Tempo customers, according to the regulator. CRE held a public consultation in May 2026 before deciding to revise the method. These examples identify the regulator’s stated reasons for review: balance across the winter and acceptability of the signal on a holiday. They do not establish how individual customers changed their usage or what financial effect the 2025–26 sequence had." ], "sources": [ { "name": "CRE news release", "url": "https://www.cre.fr/actualites/toute-lactualite/la-cre-decide-de-faire-evoluer-la-methode-de-selection-des-jours-rouges-tempo.html" } ] }, { "heading": "New selection basis and holiday treatment", "paragraphs": [ "Under the revised approach, RTE will apply to Tempo red days the selection method used for peak-period days in France’s capacity mechanism. CRE says this should distribute selected days more evenly through winter while retaining the previous method’s effectiveness in identifying days of greatest system tension. The regulator also decided that 24 and 31 December will be excluded from the red-day selection. If the electricity system is tense during the holidays, CRE says RTE can use the Ecowatt signal, which calls for solidarity rather than placing the constraint on Tempo offers. This is the regulator’s rationale for separating a holiday warning from the tariff signal. The announcement describes the method and its intended properties; it does not promise a particular number or sequence of red days in a future winter beyond the established total." ], "sources": [ { "name": "CRE news release", "url": "https://www.cre.fr/actualites/toute-lactualite/la-cre-decide-de-faire-evoluer-la-methode-de-selection-des-jours-rouges-tempo.html" }, { "name": "CRE deliberation 2026-189", "url": "https://www.cre.fr/documents/deliberations/missions-des-gestionnaires-de-reseaux-delectricite-relatives-aux-tarifs-a-effacement-de-type-tempo.html" } ] }, { "heading": "Advance notice and practical limits", "paragraphs": [ "CRE also says RTE plans to select some peak-period days two days ahead, or at J-2, after RTE and suppliers update their processes and information systems. Once those changes are complete, customers could gain one additional day of notice for those red days compared with the existing arrangement. The regulator does not say that every red day will immediately be announced at J-2; the change depends on system and process updates and applies to part of the peak-period selection. For suppliers, the update creates implementation work in forecasting, customer communications and tariff operations. For customers, a more even distribution and earlier notice may make it easier to plan, but actual response depends on each household’s tariff, equipment and ability to shift use. CRE’s release sets an intended direction, while the operational detail will depend on RTE’s implementation." ], "sources": [ { "name": "CRE news release", "url": "https://www.cre.fr/actualites/toute-lactualite/la-cre-decide-de-faire-evoluer-la-methode-de-selection-des-jours-rouges-tempo.html" } ] } ] }, "companies": [], "sourceVersion": "866ac53c3868ea53f679c41780c1a8bd1ea25cbb1d485a86fc30433428a75725" }