Status: 06.10.2022 06:53 a.m
France is reacting to the upcoming crisis winter with an electricity weather report. As part of the national energy saving plan, daily information about the load on the power grid is to be provided on television – combined with calls for savings.
France is introducing a so-called electricity weather report for the upcoming crisis winter with feared bottlenecks in the energy supply. On television, after the usual weather report and between other programs, information about the load on the power grid should follow with green, yellow and red symbols. This is part of the national energy saving plan that the government is presenting this Thursday, the newspaper “Le Parisien” reported.
The hope is therefore to reach four out of five people in France in this way in order to influence electricity consumption. By adjusting electricity consumption, the population should help to avoid supply interruptions. The national grid supplier RTE also puts information on the expected load on the electricity grid on the Internet under the motto “écoWatt”.
Power plants in France weaken
A green icon indicates power consumption, a yellow icon means the system is under load, and a red icon means there is a risk of supply disruptions if consumption is not reduced. Then people are asked to reduce their consumption between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. and between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., for example by switching on their washing machine or oven at a different time. However, turning off the TV is not one of the recommended actions.
France should not come to a standstill at these moments, but rather reduce consumption a little, it said. The feared supply bottlenecks in France, whose power supply is based heavily on nuclear energy, are related to the fact that the aging power plant park of the national energy company EDF is having persistent problems. Half of the 56 nuclear power plants are currently off the grid for maintenance.
Whether the government’s warning to have as many power plants up and running again by winter as possible can be implemented remains to be seen. France relies on electricity supplies from Germany and wants to help out its neighbors with gas. In addition, France’s penultimate coal-fired power plant was put back into operation for a limited period in Lorraine near Saarbrücken.