Avoid a blackout, a widespread power outage. This is the reason that pushes the government to prepare a draft decree that will allow limiting the electrical energy supplied to the approximately 200,000 homes equipped with a Linky meter in France, according to La Tribune. If this text is adopted, it will pave the way for a test, after the publication of the decree and until March 31, 2024, which will result in a reduction of the maximum power granted to customers of electricity providers.
This experiment should be carried out on a weekday, with a maximum duration of four hours, “between 6:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.,” he explained to La Tribuna. Linky meters will allow this to be implemented, to the extent that they offer the possibility of modulating in advance the maximum power that a home can consume.
Generally a power of 6 kVA is supplied.
What will really change if it is equipped with this type of box? Homes with a Linky meter benefit from a power of 3 to 36 kilovolt-amperes (kVA), according to Enedis, manager of the public electricity distribution network. Most French people opt more precisely for a power of 6 kVA, which seems suitable for a house of less than 80 m2, with electric heating, or “for a larger apartment but heated with gas”, specifies the energy supplier Engie .
We still do not know what limitation the executive intends to impose on the French. But depending on the maximum power granted, a greater or lesser number of devices may work at the same time in your home. “If you heat yourself with a heat pump (PAC), you run the risk of consuming too much and, therefore, cutting off the electricity supply to your house,” an energy supplier told La Tribune.
For an area of less than 50 m2, a power of 3 kVA from the electric meter is usually sufficient, according to Engie. For an apartment of more than 80 m2 heated with electricity, a power of 9 kVA is recommended.
3 kVA, the lowest level available on the market
Specifically, 3 kVA is suitable for a house whose heating and hot water do not come from electricity, with a refrigerator, television and the most common appliances, in addition to the electric oven, specifies the electricity supplier offer comparator LeLynx.fr. This power level is the lowest currently available on the market.
Therefore, with 6 kVA it is possible to additionally heat with electricity, if the size of the home is moderate (less than 80 m2). And you can also use a washing machine or a dishwasher along with other appliances.
Risk of your meter tripping
If the power available to you is too low to operate your devices at the same time, you risk your meter tripping and therefore your electricity going out.
The experiment planned by the government does not provide for any resources or possible compensation from the State. However, customers identified “as high-risk patients” should not be subject to any power limitations. All households affected by testing will be informed by mail.
“This mechanism would only be activated if all other levers were insufficient to prevent a collapse of the electricity grid,” the Ministry of Energy Transition told La Tribune. “Extreme cases”, if the risk of a widespread power outage arises in the middle of winter.
Source: BFM TV
