Power cuts this winter: first instructions announced

Will cut or not cut? Since the beginning of autumn, the authorities have been preparing the population for possible power cuts for next winter. The French are warned: if the energy consumption is too high, then the network managers will be obliged to carry out rotating load shedding in several parts of France. More light, more household appliances, more heating… Something to panic about and that’s what the government wants to avoid.

In recent weeks, contradictory messages have followed one another, some more alarmist than others. The executive, particularly Emmanuel Macron, wants to be reassuring, telling the French that he is only preparing for all scenarios and that this does not mean that there will be cuts in the coming weeks. While RTE was also preparing minds for the worst, its strategy director changed his tune on Wednesday, December 14, declaring that “the worst-case scenario” had been ruled out. Nevertheless, he stressed to the senators, “we remain in a situation of great vigilance”.

It must be said that the cold of the past few days was a test for the electricity network, which had been spared by the mild temperatures of autumn. With a thermometer falling below 0°C, some expected the first tensions on the electricity network, evoking an orange Ecowatt signal for this Monday, December 12. Nothing came of it, but the dice have not been cast, because there is still the month of January, when the freezing cold could harm the electrical installations a little more.

The authorities are preparing for this scenario and communicating locally, Actu.fr tells us. Indeed, the Vaucluse prefecture held a press conference on Wednesday December 14 to explain what could happen in the event of rotating load shedding in the coming weeks. A scenario that would apply to all the areas concerned, which you can consult below.