2. Access to electricity transmission and distribution infrastructures following liberalization in 1996

The liberalization imposed by the European Commission following the 1996 directive (transposed into French law on February 10, 2000) will change the electricity landscape somewhat: EDF lost its monopoly of electricity production and supply to "entrants" who, thanks to heavy subsidies for renewable energies and regulated access to EDF's nuclear energy, which they acquired at a competitive price (the ARENH mechanism for regulated access to historical nuclear energy), were to conquer market share to the detriment of the incumbent operator. All European consumers have been eligible for electricity since 2007, which means they can choose their supplier and switch quite easily. Electricity generation and supply are now open to competition (referred to as deregulated activities, even if an optional regulated tariff still exists for small consumers, the TRV), but the transmission (RTE) and distribution...