France will prepare measures to deal with power shortages in the winter. One of the options is to preventively switch off all power in one specific area for two hours at a time. After that period, another zone can be put in the dark for two hours.
The idea is that a maximum of 6 million French people will be without electricity at the same time. Electricity is saved with the deliberately chosen power interruptions. This prevents power failures throughout the country due to network overload.
France largely runs on its own nuclear power plants. Almost half of these are now idle for maintenance and repairs. France must therefore import electricity. But it is uncertain whether that is enough. Grid operator RTE warns that in January, when it gets really cold, there is an ‘increased risk’ of power cuts.
Not everyone is duped
The government is therefore now asking local authorities to prepare for emergency scenarios. The idea is to shut off the power at peak times, if necessary, when a lot of electricity is being used at once. That is between 08:00 and 13:00 and between 18:00 and 20:00. Residents in the areas concerned will then be warned the day before via the new so-called EcoWatt app. The streetlights will go out and public transport will come to a standstill. Schools can be closed to prevent students and teachers from being out in the cold in the morning.
Not everyone is duped. Hospitals, police stations and fire stations are always powered. Some factories are also given an exception. In total, about 60 percent of the population could be affected by a temporary power cut.
Really cold
Plans for this are now being made. But it is not yet certain that the button will actually be turned. “We will only shut down if it gets really cold, if there is not enough electricity and if electricity consumption does not decrease,” officials said anonymously in the French press.
There are major concerns about the telephone lines, in particular the emergency number 112. If telephones do not work, ambulances, police officers and the fire brigade cannot be reached. “It is an illusion to think that we will install a battery at all telephone poles and installations,” said the management of telephone provider Orange this week. It is therefore possible that emergency numbers are sometimes unavailable in certain regions. Emergency solutions can be devised for this, but we don’t know how the network will respond to that.”
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