France’s power-grid operator will bring together some of the country’s biggest energy users on Sept. 22 to detail how they can cut demand during peak hours to avoid blackouts this winter.
(Bloomberg) — France’s power-grid operator will bring together some of the country’s biggest energy users on Sept. 22 to detail how they can cut demand during peak hours to avoid blackouts this winter.
The government is pushing businesses, administrations and local authorities to reduce consumption by about 10% over two years to avoid rationing and shortages during the coldest months as Russia squeezes gas deliveries to Europe. The continent’s worst energy crisis in 50 years is being compounded by a higher-than-usual number of outages at Electricite de France SA’s nuclear reactors.
“Thanks to concrete and responsible commitments to reduce electricity consumption at the right moment, and by mobilizing their employees, large French companies have a key role to play to secure power supply of all the French this winter,” Reseau de Transport d’Electricite said in a statement Tuesday.
Retailer Carrefour SA and airline operator Air France are among the companies that have already joined RTE’s Ecowatt system. That involves pledging to reduce heating or dim lights in stores, offices and other buildings upon demand from the grid operator when electricity generation risks falling short.
Read more: French Supermarkets to Cut Electricity Use After Government Appeal
If France manages to reduce power use by 15% during peak hours thanks to energy-conservation plans and RTE’s Ecowatt early-warning system, the country should be able to get through winter without load-shedding, Xavier Piechaczyk, chairman of the power-grid operator, said in interview with Les Echos published on Sept. 2.
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