What if the energy crisis was ancient history?
On Tuesday, the manager of the high and very high voltage network RTE described the risk of tensions on the electricity network in January as "medium".
Previously, the electricity network operator placed January as a “high” risk month.
"Provided that energy saving efforts are maintained, these favorable developments reduce the risk for security of supply compared to the anticipation of recent months, in particular for the month of January (...) without to be able to exclude it in the event of very unfavorable weather conditions”, estimates RTE in the last update of its outlook for the electricity system for the next four weeks.
9% drop in consumption over the last four weeks
"France enters the heart of winter in a more favorable situation than at the beginning of autumn, and better prepared to deal with situations of tension", affirms the manager.
This favorable development is due to a sharp drop in consumption which is “now firmly established”, with a decline of 9% over the last four weeks.
In addition, hydraulic stocks, which had suffered from the drought, were able to be "reconstituted" during the autumn, while gas stocks were preserved thanks to the mild temperatures of October and November.
Another notable improvement: the availability of the nuclear fleet, the capacity of which exceeded 40 gigawatts (GW) as of the week of December 12 after the return to service of many reactors.
All of “these elements make it possible to reduce the risk of emission of the Ecowatt red signal” compared to the basic scenario established by RTE in September.
This signal warns of the risk of targeted cuts unless there are substantial reductions in electricity consumption.
Company
Energy crisis: EDF delays the restart of several reactors, initially planned for this winter
Planet
Energy crisis: The Saint-Avold coal-fired power plant has restarted
Company
Road
Electricity
Nuclear
Energy sobriety
energy crisis