The government and the electricity transmission network have warned of possible load shedding during the winter. 60% of French people may be affected but will be notified in advance. Measurement details.
If the month of December must pass without incident, power cuts are to be expected in January. And the government is taking the necessary steps in view of the energy crisis and the forecasts for the electricity transmission network (RTE). This Thursday, December 1, the executive must communicate to all the prefectures a circular detailing the procedures necessary in the event of load shedding. The word is out. “In the situation where we have a particularly cold winter, which is therefore particularly costly in terms of energy and given the difficulties in nuclear power plants, there could be situations of tension on the power line”, said government spokesman Olivier Véran. on the set of BFMTV-RMC, this Thursday. Rotating load shedding operations are still hypothetical at this stage, he however took care to recall wishing to avoid instilling a wind of panic. The power shedding which could affect 60% of French people is presented as an “exceptional” measure of “last resort” with power cuts limited to two hours and anticipated the day before for the next day. Even with these precautions, load shedding will have consequences on the opening of schools, transport and in particular access to relief.
The electrical load shedding planned for whom?
If there is electrical load shedding, the measures will only be taken from the month of January and only in the event of a cold snap. Scenarios which, according to weather forecasts, “are quite unlikely” explained François-Marie Bréon, deputy director of the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences on BFM TV, Friday, November 18. The fact remains that if the government decides to resort to rotating power cuts, these could affect up to 60% of the French population, the remaining 40% being connected to power lines which also serve sensitive areas and exempt from load shedding operations. , such as fire stations, police stations, police stations, prisons, clinics and hospitals. In addition to these so-called sensitive areas, all people hospitalized at home or dependent on medical devices have been contacted and are already being monitored by the Regional Health Agencies so that care can still be provided.
The government also plans to distribute the efforts and never, as far as possible, operate load shedding twice in the same area. All departments may be affected, but never entirely and the cuts will only concern minority areas.
Areas subject to load shedding notified the day before
Electrical load shedding will not occur at the last minute without arrangements having been made. “There will be no unexpected cuts, we are able to anticipate”, insisted Oliver Véran on the antenna of BFM TV on December 1. A red signal emitted by the Ecowatt platform will make it possible to know three days in advance of a situation of high tension and to determine the departments at risk of being affected by a power cut. More details on the areas affected by load shedding will be available the day before the outage, at 5 p.m. at the latest, on the Enedis and RTE websites. For households to know if they are in a load shedding zone, it will suffice to enter the home address. The time or at least the time slot of the cut should also be specified according to the government circular: the cuts could occur between the morning between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. or in the evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Other channels will make it possible to be informed of the shutdown the next day, in particular messages broadcast on radio and television channels.
Schools, transport, communications and town halls affected by power cuts?
If individuals installed in the load shedding area or connected to cut power lines will be affected by the power outage, this will also be the case for town halls, schools or transport. The alert made the day before the cut, at 5 p.m., is also planned to allow these infrastructures to take the necessary measures.
- In the schools : schools will be closed for the entire half-day during which the cut will take place. If the load shedding must take place in the morning, the children can only be received in class in the afternoon and vice versa.
- In the transport : the power supply of the trains will not be affected, unlike the signaling on the tracks. To take “no risk”, the circulation of trains in the areas affected by the power cut will be interrupted.
- In the town halls and public infrastructures: the presence of a person must be ensured 24 hours a day to direct the population to the emergency services when necessary. A crisis cell will also have to be set up.
- For the communication : the telephone and internet lines being connected to electricity will also be affected by power cuts and cannot always be used, not even to contact the emergency services. In the event of an emergency, the government recommends using line 112.