When and how will schools close in the event of power outages?

In what cases will schools be allowed to close this winter? A system is planned concerning closing times, preventive measures for parents and the maintenance of certain services. Key info.

[Mis à jour le 9 décembre 2022 à 15h50] As confirmed by the Ministry of National Education Pap Ndiaye, the power cuts linked to the energy crisis will not spare schools, colleges and high schools if necessary. Electrical load shedding means the temporary suspension of energy supply for some users. There will be “no school in the morning” thus declared the Minister of Education on france info this December 9. He specified, confirming his announcements of December 1, that then, three time slots will be affected : 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Concretely, the prefects will receive circulars concerning load shedding in order to inform them of the procedure to follow if cuts occur in their department. (More info here)

Load shedding in schools will follow the same principle as in the country in general: power cuts will rotate between the different establishments, so as not to impact all establishments at the same time. These tours will take place between the three time slots mentioned above. “We are going to discuss with the communities in the coming days to find out how we are organizing ourselves,” said Pap Ndiaye. And to admit in particular: “It is clear that schools are not gigantic consumers of electricity” while considering however that “we cannot prioritize schools”.

The decision to relieve the electricity network by cutting off electricity in schools for several hours, and therefore closing them for part of the day, is proving incomprehensible to professionals in the sector and worrying many parents, anxious to know which organization will be implemented in such a case. So how do you know if your child’s school is affected? What reception system will be put in place? How long will the school be closed? So many questions and concerns to which the authorities are responding as they go along these days.

In the event of tension on the electricity network, power cuts of two hours could take place, by districts. About 60% of French people could be affected by these measures. Thereby, The Parisian details that, during the month of January, cuts can be scheduled over three time slots: from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

If they take place during the morning slots, schools will have to adapt with a return to class in the early afternoon, explained Pap Ndiaye. The consequences of a two-hour power cut being sufficiently serious, the Ministry of Education has promised that no school will suffer two power cuts in the same day. As for the number of possible power cuts, the ministry agreed to a limit of three cuts maximum per school during the period of tension. A capped number of load shedding to avoid penalizing the same establishments and their students too often.

Schools, colleges and high schools will be likely to experience power cuts if they are located in the area where load shedding will take place. France info reports the words of the Ministry of Education, which assures that “schools will not be closed at the last minute”. In the same way that they will find out about the programming of a load shedding on the Ecowatt platform, parents of students will know the day before if their child’s establishment is concerned.

College and high school boarding schools, which in addition to being able to suffer the consequences of a power cut in the morning can also be affected by load shedding during the late slot from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., will remain open in the evening, even in the event of of cut. Only establishments located near priority structures (hospitals, law enforcement) will be spared from load shedding. According to the government, around 40% of French people are on lines supplying priority sites and will thus escape the cuts. Some establishments will therefore be exempted.

If the power cuts occur in the early morning, the restarting of equipment in the canteen services should make it possible to ensure the catering of half-board students, estimated the government. “We are told that the canteens would be open despite the cuts between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. … Except that the staff who prepare food for the children do not start working at 10 a.m.”, however replied a member of the FCPE union to West France. If the restoration of the pupils could experience complications with a morning cut, the difficulties would also be present in the event of load shedding scheduled between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Extracurricular services such as daycare will also be affected in the event of a power outage at the end of the day during the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. slot.

How will parents of students be notified of school closures?

Schools will know the day before for the next day if they have to close because of a scheduled power cut. The Ecowatt platform, which measures the quantities of energy produced and consumed, will confirm at 5 p.m. the use of load shedding the next morning, which will only leave a few hours for education professionals and parents of students to working order and to find solutions for the care of the children.

Once the confirmation of the power outage at 5 p.m., the establishments concerned by the deprivation of electricity will notify the parents of students no later than 7 p.m. via the digital tools put in place to ensure communication between the teaching staff and families. But these efforts will not ensure that all parents are aware of the morning closure of the establishment warned on BFMVTVDidier Georges, principal and union representative of SNPDEN-UNSA.

The list of establishments affected by the closures will be known the day before load shedding and the power cut. Schools, colleges and high schools located in the relief zone will have to close and students will not be able to be accommodated. However, parents exercising priority professions, such as doctors or law enforcement officers, will be able, if they have no other solution, to entrust their children to school in “schools located near priority structures which will not suffer the load shedding”. The measure takes up the provisions tested and approved during the health crisis.