"Cuts are not inevitable": the president of RTE calls for practicing "good eco-gestures"

Maximilien Carlier 11:01 a.m., December 3, 2022

Will there be electricity at Christmas?

This winter, the government does not rule out load shedding and is considering power cuts in the event of overloads on the electricity network.

To best avoid this type of situation, a new electrical connection was inaugurated yesterday between France and Belgium in Tournai, on the Belgian side.

A project which will make it possible to double the electricity exchange capacity on the very high voltage border lines, and therefore limit the risk of cuts this winter.

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Xavier Piechaczyk, president of RTE, is also counting on the behavior of French people to cope with a tense winter.

"Cuts are not inevitable. We will warn the French three days before. The French, businesses and local authorities will have three days to organize themselves and do the right eco-gestures on D-Day", he assures .

"And if everyone does these good eco-gestures on D-Day, there will be no cuts."

Avoid "red Ecowatt" days

For its part, RTE certifies that it organizes itself as well as possible to avoid these power cuts.

For this, Xavier Piechaczyk calls on companies and local authorities to "[the] help".

"We too are commissioning new interconnections as quickly as possible to import as much electricity as possible. This is additional import capacity and it lowers the risk of an 'Ecowatt red' day."

The "Ecowatt red" signal indicates a level of consumption that is too high, or a lack of electricity that is too great, to cover all of the territory's needs.

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"During a red Ecowatt day, we schedule cuts, unless the French, businesses and local communities mobilize to make eco-gestures", summarizes Xavier Piechaczyk.