Europe 1 with AFP 11:54 a.m., June 16, 2022, modified at 11:55 a.m., June 16, 2022

With the heat wave, electricity consumption in France is increasing due to a "fan and air conditioning effect", a spokeswoman for the RTE said on Thursday.

In a context of low availability of its nuclear fleet, France will then have to rely on imports to secure its energy supply.

Electricity consumption in France is currently increasing due to the heat wave and the country has to rely on imports because of the low availability of its nuclear fleet, RTE said on Thursday.

"Consumption is increasing" with "a fan and air conditioning effect," a spokeswoman for the high-voltage network manager told AFP.

A degree above seasonal norms thus results in an increase in electricity consumption of approximately 700 MW when it is hot.

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“We rely on imports”

RTE is expecting a consumption peak of 55.5 GW on Thursday at 1:00 p.m.

By comparison, the peak on Thursday June 9 had been below 52 GW.

The expected levels, however, remain well below those of winter and are far from records or historical peaks, even in summer.

Consumption has already been higher than in June in the past, specifies RTE.

"There is no concern about the security of supply" but "we are counting on imports", also specified the manager of the high voltage network.

France must indeed count on its neighbors in a context of low availability of its nuclear fleet, with in particular reactors shut down for corrosion problems.

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Limit the level of air conditioning?

Heat can also affect nuclear production in some cases, even if this phenomenon remains quite limited.

EDF has thus warned that production at its Saint-Alban site (Isère) could be affected until Thursday June 23 "due to low flow forecasts on the Rhône".

Some countries such as Italy and Spain have recently limited the level of air conditioning in order to save energy, in particular within the framework of the efforts demanded by Brussels to end the European dependence on Russian gas.

"This is one of the subjects on which I would like" a consultation, said Thursday the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, on France 2. She mentioned "both the administration, the representatives of the administration - we manage agents, we manage square meters" adding that we also want to "ensure that trade unions and professional organizations talk to each other to find solutions".