French high-voltage transmission system operator RTE issued €1 billion in new green bonds on 21 October 2026, the company said in a release dated 23 October. The offering was split into two €500 million tranches: a four-year bond with a 4.125% coupon and a seven-year bond with a 4.5% coupon. RTE said total investor orders exceeded €2.2 billion. That indicates demand above twice the amount issued; the release does not detail final allocations or the investor mix.

RTE said the financing cost was broadly similar to French government bonds, which the company says generally finance at lower cost; the seven-year tranche was slightly below the comparable state bond. This is a pricing comparison for the new issuance and does not mean sovereign and corporate debt carry the same risk. RTE reported an average debt maturity of 10 years and an average interest rate of 2.58%. The new coupons are not directly comparable to that portfolio average: they are contractual rates on two newly issued tranches, while the average describes RTE’s existing debt portfolio.

The company said the bond adds to €5 billion in loans from Caisse des Dépôts savings funds and €800 million in financing from the European Investment Bank. RTE links the combined financing to its investment programme to adapt the public transmission network to climate change and connect new low-carbon electricity generation and consumption infrastructure. The release does not specify which individual projects will receive proceeds from this bond or when allocations will be made. RTE said it recently published a Green Bond Allocation and Impact Report detailing allocations from capital raised, including green bonds, to network development projects under its Green Financing Framework.

The transaction comes as RTE uses bond-market and institutional lending alongside its network investment programme. The release does not attribute a specific capital expenditure to the new bond or quantify additional grid capacity it will deliver. RTE is France’s national electricity transmission operator, and the stated purpose is to support the company’s investment programme. The announcement does not say the bond is guaranteed by the French Treasury or central bank. The bookrunners were Barclays, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, CIC, Natixis, NatWest Markets, SMBC and Société Générale.