The French government is preparing the French people for the risk of power outages in the coming months due to the historically low production of nuclear power plants. If these power outages are confirmed, what tools are at your disposal? From Ecowatt to Enedis. We explain.
Public authorities are preparing French families for unprecedented cuts in the country. Lack of sufficient electricity generation. The reason is not the war in Ukraine, but the state of the French nuclear fleet. Of the 56 reactors in France, 20 are still shut down as of early December 2022.
For these reasons, the Interministerial Crisis Unit is working on the hypothesis of a six to ten blackout. Corsica, which has its own production, will not be affected.
You will need to familiarize yourself with Ecowatt, this site and this application which you can download to your tablet or mobile phone.
You can also receive an Ecowatt alert by telephone via sms.
The “Ecowatt” weather forecast will be given on television during the weather forecast.
If electricity production becomes insufficient in France, RTE (Electricity Transport Network) which manages the high and very high voltage lines, will sound the alarm.
The French will be warned by a red EcoWatt signal. During the winter it could be activated for a few days, depending on the climatic needs. This red EcoWatt signal will be activated three days before any outage. January is the riskiest month.
If consumption decreases and neighboring countries can supply electricity, the blackout will be avoided. If that’s not the case, the red EcoWatt signal will be confirmed to the French the day before for the following day.
The cuts could take place at the height of the day between 8am and 1pm and 6pm and 8pm, warns RTE. It is in its time slots that the French consume the most. In the event of load shedding, the cuts will last a maximum of two consecutive hours in parts of the departments
► The website Mon Ecowatt
On D-1, around 15:00, we will know which department is affected by a load shedding the following day.
On D-1 around 5pm, you will be able to find out if your address is affected by a power outageyou will need to go to the website “Temporary cuts” by Enedis
This information will also be provided by the site monecowatt.fr
President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday 3 December urged the French not to “panic” in the face of the risk of power outages this winter, even judging that they could be avoided if consumption were reduced by 10% according to the plan presented by the government .
The risk of cuts concerns 60% of the population, says the government. The only French people who would be spared are those who benefit from the proximity of a protected infrastructure: a sensitive site, a hospital, a police station, a gendarmerie, a fire station. But they will not be without consequences on schools that could remain closed in the morning in the event of a cutthe telephone network and emergency numbers, internet connections, patients dependent on an electric car at home, public lighting… The government has sent a circular to the prefects of each region.
► Follow the news of the energy crisis on franceinfo
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A gust of wind, a faulty installation. If your power goes out this winter, it could also be due to a reason other than voluntary shedding of the grid load.
ON the outage website Enedis enter the name of your street, to find out if there is a punctual interruption, and what is the expected time of return to normal on the network.
With the AFP
