And right away, the gas weather forecast! The manager of gas transport in France, GRTgaz, launched the “Ecogaz” device on Thursday, a kind of “barometer” which will warn French consumers of possible tensions on the network. The device is close to the one already launched to save electricity, Ecowatt.
When the signal is orange or red, the platform will send an alert by email or SMS to consumers registered on the platform myecogaz.com to prevent them and encourage them to reduce their consumption. Ecogaz gives the trend over five days with four colours: green (normal consumption), yellow (slightly higher than normal), orange (very higher and/or voltage) and red (risk of cuts).
The activation of the red signal opens the way to paid voluntary interruptions or load shedding (cuts) for large industrial customers. On the other hand, it spares individuals, the cuts being technically difficult to achieve for these customers. The signal is updated daily taking into account consumption forecasts for the next few days and the balance between gas inflows and outflows on the network.
Potentially “tense situations” at the end of winter
The drying up of Russian gas has led Europe to rethink its entire supply to fill its winter stocks. These storages are full in France, but it is necessary to save “from now” to face the winter, estimates GRTgaz. “If we have an average winter, we are able to meet demand, but if it’s very cold, we may have to manage tense situations” in the second half of winter, when stocks drop, explains to AFP Thierry Found, CEO of GRTgaz.
Ecogaz will support the sobriety plan announced by the government to encourage individuals, communities and businesses to save energy, according to GRTgaz. More than sixty partners (companies, housing players, communities, media and energy suppliers) have signed the Ecogaz charter, committing to relaying warning signs and reducing their own consumption.