ENERGY. While the energy crisis raises fears of gas or electricity shortages this winter, Russian gas deliveries are further reduced on August 30. Emmanuel Macron will chair a defense council dedicated to energy on September 2.
[Mis à jour le 30 août 2022 à 10h44] An exceptional situation, exceptional measure. While the energy crisis has been abating for several months in Europe and France, the winter promises to be difficult with the risk of supply difficulties or even shortages of gas and electricity. In response, Emmanuel Macron summoned his ministers for a Defense Council dedicated to energy scheduled for Friday, September 2, 2022. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, and Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher are invited to draw up the energy policy and think about solutions on the supply of energy alongside the President of the Republic for. The holding of a government meeting reflects the urgency of the situation and perhaps the pessimism of the state.
A first solution was thought out and presented by the government: energy sobriety. Elisabeth Borne spoke at length on the subject on August 29 before the Medef, calling on companies to reduce their energy consumption by at least 10%. The call for energy sobriety certainly extends to economic players but also to citizens, underlined the Prime Minister who invited everyone to act within their means and to reduce energy expenditure. The tone of the Matignon tenant was also imperative since Elisabeth Borne posed the ultimatum of “chosen savings” or “cuts suffered”. Worse, it dangled a possible rationing of gas or electricity and in the worst case scenario of load shedding: either sudden and unexpected cuts overnight.
Without Russian gas, is there a risk of a shortage?
Gas has become, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, a coveted source of energy but above all available in less quantity. Blame it on Russia which, in response to the Western economic sanctions taken against it, drastically reduced gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. A decision which raises fears of a lack of gas supply in Europe. In France too the risk of shortage is feared but the government spokesman Olivier Véran wanted to be reassuring on August 30 on France info : “We will have achieved our objective of filling our gas stocks 100% by the end of the summer”, qualifying however “that does not mean that we will have enough”. The day before, the deputy director general of Engie, Claire Waysand, also sought to calm the concerns before the Medef: “We have the volumes [de gaz, NDLR] which we need in an average climate”. The real risks of supply relate only to days which could be particularly cold and lead to “hours or days of tension”, added the Minister for the Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher. .
Gazprom deliveries further slowed and interrupted
If France “depends little” on Russian gas as assured by Emmanuel Macron on August 26, the fact remains that the supply of gas is impacted by the cessation of deliveries. On August 30, the energy company Engie also announced a further reduction in gas deliveries by the Russian giant Gazprom due to “a disagreement between the parties on the application of contracts”. A therefore reduced flow which will be completely interrupted from August 31 to September 2 for “maintenance” and “it is very difficult to know what will happen after, it is fiction”, estimated Claire Waysand about the resumptions of deliveries.
Since this summer, only 1.5 TWh per month have been delivered by Gazprom according to Engie, which indicated in July that the share of Russian gas in its stocks is around 4%. Engie also claims to have put in place emergency measures to be able to continue gas deliveries to its customers even in the event of a stoppage of Russian gas deliveries.