Nov 4, 2025
Enedis announces a €250 million plan for climate resilience in the Marseille grid.
France's largest distribution system operator, Enedis, has initiated the Marseille Network programme, a €250 million ($287.9 million) investment plan aimed at modernizing Marseille’s public electricity distribution network by 2030.
The programme focuses on three key areas: enhancing grid resilience against climate change, supporting the decarbonization of transport—especially maritime—and facilitating urban and industrial growth in the rapidly changing region. Enedis highlights that increasing severe weather events necessitate grid adjustments, as France faced multiple heatwave warnings this summer leading to power reduction alerts.
The initiative aims to reduce power outage durations in Marseille to national standards, averaging 40 minutes per year by 2030, while the current average stands at about 75 minutes. This delay is largely attributed to heatwaves affecting the grid in densely populated areas.
A major strategy for resilience involves replacing over 40 km of heat-impregnated paper (HIP) cables annually with more reliable synthetic-insulated cables designed to withstand extreme weather. Currently, Marseille has 160 km of HIP cables in its underground medium-voltage network (20,000 volts). Analysis from heatwaves between 2015 and 2023 indicates that replacing overhead power lines can reduce incidents during high temperatures by a factor of 33, particularly in urban settings like Marseille. Enedis plans to remove 85% of medium-voltage overhead power lines nationwide by 2040, aiming for complete removal in Marseille by 2030.
The Marseille Network programme also plays a role in the broader initiative to decarbonize maritime transport. Enedis is partnering with the Port of Marseille Fos on the ‘Zero Smoke Stopovers’ project, targeting full electrical connectivity for ferries by year-end. In May 2025, Enedis established a new 20MW delivery point for the port, with plans for five port charging points to reach a total capacity of 160MW.
To reduce surface disruption, 1.5 km of excavation was avoided through the use of an underground utility tunnel, which is expected to lower CO₂ emissions by up to 300 tons annually per ship and improve local air quality.
In June 2025, an ABB-led consortium completed France’s largest shore power system at the Port of Toulon, integral to the Zero Smoke Stopovers project. This facility can offer connections at 11kV and 6.6kV to support both ferries and cruise ships. It can accommodate three ferries or one cruise ship simultaneously and is designed to integrate a 1MW hydrogen fuel cell system.
ABB noted this as the only operational solution in France capable of serving multiple vessels from one conversion station, utilizing a smart grid network architecture. The system, developed by Toulon Provence Méditerranée Metropolis, incorporates ABB technology for energy storage, facilitating efficient energy management and enabling compatibility with renewable energy sources like solar power and batteries.
The programme focuses on three key areas: enhancing grid resilience against climate change, supporting the decarbonization of transport—especially maritime—and facilitating urban and industrial growth in the rapidly changing region. Enedis highlights that increasing severe weather events necessitate grid adjustments, as France faced multiple heatwave warnings this summer leading to power reduction alerts.
The initiative aims to reduce power outage durations in Marseille to national standards, averaging 40 minutes per year by 2030, while the current average stands at about 75 minutes. This delay is largely attributed to heatwaves affecting the grid in densely populated areas.
A major strategy for resilience involves replacing over 40 km of heat-impregnated paper (HIP) cables annually with more reliable synthetic-insulated cables designed to withstand extreme weather. Currently, Marseille has 160 km of HIP cables in its underground medium-voltage network (20,000 volts). Analysis from heatwaves between 2015 and 2023 indicates that replacing overhead power lines can reduce incidents during high temperatures by a factor of 33, particularly in urban settings like Marseille. Enedis plans to remove 85% of medium-voltage overhead power lines nationwide by 2040, aiming for complete removal in Marseille by 2030.
The Marseille Network programme also plays a role in the broader initiative to decarbonize maritime transport. Enedis is partnering with the Port of Marseille Fos on the ‘Zero Smoke Stopovers’ project, targeting full electrical connectivity for ferries by year-end. In May 2025, Enedis established a new 20MW delivery point for the port, with plans for five port charging points to reach a total capacity of 160MW.
To reduce surface disruption, 1.5 km of excavation was avoided through the use of an underground utility tunnel, which is expected to lower CO₂ emissions by up to 300 tons annually per ship and improve local air quality.
In June 2025, an ABB-led consortium completed France’s largest shore power system at the Port of Toulon, integral to the Zero Smoke Stopovers project. This facility can offer connections at 11kV and 6.6kV to support both ferries and cruise ships. It can accommodate three ferries or one cruise ship simultaneously and is designed to integrate a 1MW hydrogen fuel cell system.
ABB noted this as the only operational solution in France capable of serving multiple vessels from one conversion station, utilizing a smart grid network architecture. The system, developed by Toulon Provence Méditerranée Metropolis, incorporates ABB technology for energy storage, facilitating efficient energy management and enabling compatibility with renewable energy sources like solar power and batteries.