“It's pure forecasting, pure caution.
For 2,000 euros, Aimé Hoeffler, 61, acquired a new 5,000 watt diesel generator installed in his garage.
With a full tank, the unit can run for ten hours and supply the "essential" equipment: freezer, household appliances and "if possible" the electric heat pump for heating.
Security in the face of the uncertainty of the electricity supply this winter.
With the energy crisis, caused by the war in Ukraine and aggravated by problems with the maintenance of nuclear reactors, scheduled and targeted power cuts could occur this winter in the event of an overload of the electricity network.
Even if the government and the operators try to reassure the population, Aimé Hoeffler is not alone in preparing for the worst.
80% increase in demand from suppliers
“Since the end of the summer”, sales of generators have increased significantly at Castorama, “with in particular a very strong increase over the past two weeks”, indicates a spokesperson for the group, which “started very early to get organized”.
Compared to 2021, the quantities sold have multiplied by 2.5 in the last four months and by four in the last two weeks, detailed the company.
Same story on the side of the Mr Bricolage sign.
"In less than three months, we have made the equivalent of a year of sales," said commercial director Hervé Onfray, stressing that demand is "greater in rural areas and small towns", "less" in “large urban centres”.
On the supplier side, in Plérin, near Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, "it's madness".
At the manufacturer of high-capacity industrial generators Gelec, “we had an explosion of orders” from the end of August, with an 80% increase over one year, reports director Eric Lemoine.
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