France is bracing for possible hourly power outages in winter. Up to six million people could be affected at the same time, as well as schools, trains and subways, it said yesterday in Paris. A crisis team that includes several ministries is currently working on the assumption of six to ten winter power outages.
Municipalities will soon be asked in writing to prepare scenarios to reduce electricity consumption to 38% of average consumption. Hospitals, fire stations, police and several industrial sites would not be affected by the two-hour power outages.
Regional and for a limited time
In case of a crisis, electricity will not be cut in entire departments, but only in smaller and previously defined areas. The population must be informed by 5 pm the day before.
Power outages affect peak consumption times between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. So far, it has only been preparation for a crisis.
partially homemade problem
France’s government has asked households and businesses to reduce their energy consumption by ten percent. Households and companies are asked to heat interior spaces to a maximum of 19 degrees. In Paris, lighted signs must be turned off between 11:45 pm and 6 am.
With the contingency plan, France reacts both to the energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and to the domestic problems caused by the closure of numerous nuclear power plants. More recently, 23 of the 56 reactors have been shut down, partly due to delays in maintenance work and partly due to technical problems.