| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy, energy transmission, energy network management |
| Founded | January 1, 2005 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Key people | Philippe Boucly, CEO |
| Products | Natural gas 32044 km of pipelines 25 compressor stations 4550 delivery points |
| Revenue | €1464 millions in 2008 |
| Parent | GDF Suez |
| Website | www.grtgaz.com |
GRTgaz is the operator of a gas transmission system in France. This system consists of pipelines through which natural gas flows at high pressure, in excess of 60 bar. GRTgaz’s role is to operate, maintain and develop its network of pipelines and to sell capacity to natural gas suppliers operating in the French market.
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GRTgaz is a public limited company, a subsidiary of the industrial group GDF Suez (formerly Gaz de France). It was created on January 1, 2005 in application of European directives on the European electricity and gas market. GRTgaz operates in the regulated energy sector: this means that the rates it charges for its services are public and set by the Government. Its activities are monitored by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). Its board of directors is made up of representatives of the Government and of personnel, independent directors and representatives of the GDF Suez Group.
Philippe Boucly has been CEO of the company for January 1, 2009. The former CEO Jacques Laurelut is Chairman of GTE, Gas Transmission Europe, an association of the different national gas transmission companies in the European Union. GTE’s role is to represent the industry across Europe.
GRTgaz, strictly speaking, has no main competitors. GRTgaz’s activity is a natural monopoly. However, GRTgaz does not operate France’s entire gas transmission system: TIGF, a subsidiary of Total S.A., operates the transmission system in the south-western quarter of France.
GRTgaz has a dual role:
GRTgaz has a public service role: it guarantees a continuous supply of natural gas, even in times of extreme cold. Under French law, even in the event of exceptionally cold conditions, as may occur every 50 years, the transmission system must be able to meet peak consumer demand. The law defines this concept of exceptionally cold conditions as follows:
Currently, these temperatures, as calculated from previous winters, are around -1.5°C on average across France, with a minimum of -18.1°C and a maximum of -1°C, depending on the location.
In addition, the gas transmission operator’s central role in the opening up of the market demands strict equity between natural gas operators. GRTgaz follows three principles which govern its actions and decisions:
These undertakings are set out and explained in GRTgaz’s Code of Conduct. Every transmission system operator is legally required to establish and publish a code of conduct. GRTgaz’s Code of Conduct is published on its website. Every year, a report is published on the application of that Code within the company, and is also sent to the CRE.
The transmission system operated by GRTgaz covers the whole of France, with the exception of the South-West. It consists of:
a primary pipeline system 6,100 km long: the biggest pipelines (diameters of 400 mm to 1200 mm and pressures of 67 to 85 bar). the regional pipeline system: smaller in diameter (80 mm to 400 mm, pressure of 20 to 40 bar), the function of these pipes is to supply gas to industrial customers and public distribution networks. This structure can be compared with the roads network: the primary pipeline system is the equivalent of the motorway network, and the regional system corresponds to the trunk roads.
Most of the pipelines run through the countryside and near towns and cities, where they often form an orbital loop.
They are all underground, which makes the system both safe and discreet. A pipeline is identified by regularly spaced yellow marker posts on the surface and by an easement strip 10 m to 24 m wide, where no high vegetation is allowed to grow. This means that it is in woodland where the pipelines are most “visible”, since their route is marked by a strip with no high trees on it, which sometimes takes the form of a track or a fire break, or else long areas of grassland where a degree of biodiversity can develop.
The natural gas flows through these pipes and gradually loses speed and pressure. This means that it needs to be regularly re-pressurized. Approximately every 150 km is a compressor station, which restores pressure to the gas. Interconnection stations along the pipeline direct the gas in different directions, like a motorway interchange.
Pipelines and compressor stations are the main structures on the transmission system, along with interconnection stations and a number of other substations:
GRTgaz has an ambitious 10-year investment program focusing on the following aims:
In all, the plan is to invest more than €5 billion over the period 2007-2016, including €480 million on safety and €550 million on environmental protection.