The Block Exchange Notification of Demand Response mechanism, known as "NEBEF", allows consumers to participate in energy markets through load reductions. It thus provides an additional economic area to the balancing mechanism.

Participating

All consumption sites connected in mainland France may participate in the NEBEF mechanism by providing demand response in exchange for remuneration on energy markets (either over-the-counter or via day-ahead and intraday power exchanges), on fair and equal terms with generation and this without the agreement of suppliers being required.

You may participate:

• either directly by becoming a demand response aggregator (DRA), if the site has a minimum load reduction capacity of 100 kW,

• or indirectly, calling on a third party DR aggregator. The consumption site then receives payment according to the terms of the contract with the demand response aggregator.

From contracting to remuneration

The DRA may combine several sites within its perimeter. The attachment of a consumption site to a demand response perimeter is conditional on the agreement of the site. The DRA sells the demand response block on the energy market and declares its demand response schedules to RTE, from 9am the day before, until 1 hour before the start of the load reduction on day D. Loads reductions in energy markets are remunerated by means of payment from the DRA to the electricity suppliers of the consumption sites concerned. RTE provides the fixed scale applied for the NEBEF regulated model.

Contracting

To become Demand Response Aggregator, you must:

• sign a participation agreement to NEBEF Terms V3.5  applicable as of september 1rst, 2023,
• obtain a technical approval that certifies your ability to manage load reductions, based on a file and tests.
• have a balance perimeter (by being Balance Responsible Party  - BRP - or with a third party BRP).

Report accompanying the NEBEF Terms and Conditions 3.5

Where appropriate :

• RTE verifies the actual load reduction of your entity based on the method you have selected. There are several load reduction check methods: to benefit from load reduction checks based on forecast and based on historical data, the site must carry out certification tests to ensure the method is adapted to its process.
• If you wish to participate in the submetering experiment, you and the relevant remotely-read consumption sites need to obtain a qualification from RTE.
• So as to request a qualification for small scale consumption, RTE will order relevant audits to the inspection authority at the expense of the aggregator. The aggregator will be contacted directly by the inspection authority to organise the site visits. 

Access the information system

To participate in NEBEF as demand response aggregator, you must have access to RTE’s information system and exchange data exchange as per the arrangements described in the NEBEF IS rules.

• RTE IS access form
• NEBEF IS Terms and Conditions applicable as of 1st january 2024
• User manual of the NEBEF 1 API  (transmission and consultation of NEBEF load response data)
• Implementation guide for DSO exchanges - DRA 

Complementary services

For more transparency, RTE provides you with a set of data services :

• Aggregated NEBEF load reduction volumes and achieved load-reduction logs within the perimeter of France
• List of Demand Response Aggregators
• Fixed scales (regulated model)
• Test protocols
• Reliability indicators of load reductions at activation
• Load reductions: Certification quality criteria for forecast and history methods

Find out more

Be remunerated for your generation and consumption flexibilities

Contact

Your sales representative or marketservices@rte-france.com is at your disposal for any additional information on the NEBEF mechanism.