France’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has approved the introduction of new forward electricity products by EDF Obligation d’Achat (EDF OA) to better reflect the production profile of photovoltaic installations.

The new products will be introduced from the first quarter of 2027 following a public consultation carried out by the CRE in November 2025.

Most of the electricity supported under France’s obligation-to-purchase (OA) scheme falls within the scope of EDF OA and is subject to a hedging strategy in the forward electricity markets. Until now, this strategy has relied exclusively on baseload products, which cover every hour of the day.

The CRE will now allow EDF OA to sell products that better correspond to the hourly profile of solar generation, including peak products and experimental “solar block” products.

The regulator has approved the sale of three peak products: Q2 2027 peak, Q3 2027 peak and CAL 2028 peak, with volumes expected to range from approximately 500 MW to 1 GW. The CRE will determine the final volumes and sales schedule in December.

In addition, EDF OA will introduce solar-block products on an experimental basis, with volumes of only a few tens of MW. These products will cover the 12:00–16:00 period on weekdays or weekends, targeting hours that more closely correspond to photovoltaic generation.

Initially, the CRE plans to limit the solar-block products to either the Q2 2027 and Q3 2027 quarterly contracts or the CAL 2028 annual contract. The final products, volumes and sales schedule will also be confirmed in December, taking into account the expected date of their introduction on the EEX platform.

According to the CRE, the change is intended to better protect the French state budget from short-term wholesale electricity price volatility and improve the predictability of the costs or revenues associated with the CSPE, the charges linked to public energy services.

The decision concerns EDF OA’s forward-market hedging strategy rather than a change to the support price paid to photovoltaic installations.