This could be an alternative to scheduled power cuts in the event of extreme tension on the network, so feared by the government last winter. The Ministry of Energy Transition announced on Friday October 13 that it was working on a draft decree to experiment this winter with a “temporary limitation” of the electricity consumption of thousands of residential customers. This test should take place between the date of publication of the decree – unknown to date – and March 31, 2024. No recourse or compensation is planned to date. The text will be presented to the High Energy Council on October 26.
What does this experiment consist of?
Concretely, it would take place in one go, for “a few hours” and over a perimeter of around 200,000 people equipped with Linky meters, who will be notified in advance by post. The full-scale test would amount to lowering their available power to 3 kilovolt-amperes (kVA) – which is generally 6 kVA in homes. This “would have the advantage of not interrupting customers’ power supply and of preserving a minimum level of power supply for basic electrical uses (3 kVA, corresponding to a radiator, a charging laptop, a refrigerator)”, detailed Enedis. The households concerned will therefore have to be satisfied, for a maximum period of 4 hours, with the “minimum power threshold allowing the operation of current, energy-efficient equipment”.
Contacted by AFP, the electricity distribution network to individuals Enedis explained that it had been asked by the public authorities to “work on a new safeguard measure to consider securing the electricity network in the medium/long term”, as an alternative temporary outages”, these load shedding so feared last winter and put in place to avoid a possible blackout. The draft decree provides for the test to be carried out in winter, when the network is most in demand due to heating needs. “Our responsibility is to ensure that we improve the resilience of the system by experimenting with various tools, to test their effectiveness,” explained the ministry.
Are there other devices?
For several months, the government has been leading campaigns to encourage households to subscribe to “mobile point” electricity subscriptions, that is to say, offers which encourage them to reduce their electricity consumption, by increasing or lowering electricity prices. KWh during consumption peaks and troughs. Thursday October 12, the Ministry of Energy Transition welcomed the popularity of EDF’s “Tempo” offer, which doubled its customer base in one year.
Private companies also offer “diffuse erasure” solutions. Boxes positioned in particular along the heating systems in apartments and houses make it possible to cut off the heating for a few minutes when the network is experiencing a moment of high demand. On a large scale, this small device can significantly relieve the electricity network.
Will these measures be necessary this winter?
The ministry wants to reassure: this experimental project has “no link with the situation of the electricity system for this winter”, he assures. “We are entering winter in much better conditions than last winter”, with a “level of tension on the electrical system currently lower than last year at the same period”, thanks to lower consumption and the rise in power of the nuclear fleet, underlined the ministry. “France has also been an exporter of electricity since the start of 2023, at levels close to 2021”, while it had been a net importer for almost all of 2022, he further noted. .
However, the government wants to “determine” whether it is “technically possible to implement a new tool to safeguard the electricity network in the event of extreme tension, to avoid planned outages”. Means already exist before arriving at the ultimate scenario of cuts: mobilization of production capacities, imports of electricity, voluntary reduction in consumption by manufacturers, voltage drops of 5% on electrical appliances. As in the case of outages, such a mechanism would only be “activated if all other levers were insufficient to avoid a widespread power outage,” the ministry said.