Glossary
Enedis: the French electricity grid operator
What is Enedis?
Enedis (formerly ERDF) owns and runs France's local electricity network. It manages the lines, transformers and meters that bring power to homes. It doesn't sell you electricity. That's your supplier, whether EDF, TotalEnergies or another firm. The difference matters for solar panels, new connections and any change to your supply. Enedis publishes its procedures and forms at enedis.fr.
What is the difference between Enedis and EDF?
- Enedis: the network operator. It owns the cables up to your meter, connects new supplies, installs and reads meters, repairs faults and approves solar connections.
- EDF or another supplier: the company that sells you electricity and sends the bill. You can switch supplier without anything changing on the network or at your meter.
So when an installer says the solar connection needs Enedis approval, it means the grid operator's sign-off. Your contract and your bill stay with your supplier, whichever one you choose.
When is Enedis involved in home energy work?
Most homeowners never contact Enedis themselves. The installer or your supplier does it. Enedis steps in for these:
- New connections: connecting a new build, or a property newly split off, to the grid needs a connection application (raccordement). Your electrician manages it.
- Solar panels: sending surplus power to the grid needs Enedis approval. The installer applies, and Enedis replies with an offer setting out the connection cost and conditions.
- A bigger subscription: if an EV charger or a heat pump means you need more power, ask your supplier to raise your subscription. On a Linky smart meter, Enedis makes the change remotely for about 4 EUR, and your standing charge goes up.
- Switching to three-phase: some high-power equipment, such as a fast EV charger, needs a three-phase supply. It's a bigger job: the electrician's work plus an Enedis fee. Ask whether you need it before choosing the equipment, and get two written quotes.
- EV charging: a standard home wallbox at a house needs no CONSUEL attestation, though it may need the bigger subscription above. In an apartment building, every new charging point needs one.
- Linky meters: the smart meters are an Enedis programme and are now standard. Their readings are what solar self-consumption and time-of-use tariffs rely on.
How does Enedis connect a solar installation to the grid?
Your installer handles each step. It helps to know the order, because the paperwork sets the date the system goes live.
- The installer files a connection request (demande de raccordement) online, including the onduleur model and how much power the system can export.
- Enedis replies with a connection offer (proposition de raccordement). It confirms the local network can take the connection and sets out any cost.
- Once the offer is accepted and any cost paid, Enedis sets a date for the connection.
- After the panels are in, the installer sends Enedis the CONSUEL attestation.
- Enedis activates the export. EDF OA (EDF's buyer of surplus solar power) then sets up the contract that buys your surplus.
That contract pays 1.1 c EUR per kWh before tax. The rate is fixed in the regulation, so every new small system gets the same one. Ask the installer to confirm, before you sign, that the connection request and the CONSUEL fee are included in the price.
What is the CACSI for solar with no export?
The CACSI (Convention d'Autoconsommation Sans Injection, an agreement for solar panels that send no power to the grid) is a simpler agreement with Enedis for solar systems that use everything they produce and send nothing to the grid. You sign a convention in place of a full connection request, and the reply comes faster. Plug-in solar kits and small systems with no export usually fall under it. If your system is going to sell surplus power, the CACSI doesn't apply and you need a full connection request.
How long does Enedis take to connect solar panels?
Enedis is one of the most common reasons solar projects run late. Response times vary with region and workload. In the Alpes-Maritimes, a full connection request can take several weeks, and a CACSI still needs processing before the system can be switched on. The panels can usually go on the roof while the paperwork runs, but they can't export until Enedis activates the connection. Ask the installer for a timeline that includes the Enedis step, especially if you're only on the Riviera for part of the year.
More on solar connections, meters and EV charging
Sources
Official sources for Enedis connections, solar surplus and CONSUEL
- Enedis The grid operator that connects solar systems, changes a Linky subscription and switches a house to three-phase.
- Légifrance: arrêté of 1 June 2026 on small solar installations EDF OA buys solar surplus at 1.1 c EUR per kWh, a rate set in the regulation itself.
- Légifrance: Code de l'énergie, article D342-19 A new installation, a full rewire with the supply cut and a solar system all need a CONSUEL attestation before connection.
- CONSUEL: attestations for EV charging points Every new charging point in an apartment building needs an attestation; at a house, only a charger over 36 kW.
Rules checked against these sources in September 2026.