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GET IT ALL – Duration, schools, transport, work: everything you need to know about power outages

The government has presented its crisis plan to deal with possible power cuts in January 2023. Concretely, what should the French expect? How will your daily life be affected?

The scenario of power outages is becoming more and more real. The risk of the grid being energized, during the winter and particularly at the beginning of 2023, is considered high by the operator of the electricity transmission network (RTE). This is a delay, estimated at around two weeks, in the availability of the nuclear park, which, together with unfavorable weather, could cause serious difficulties in the network.

To deal with these tensions, RTE and the Government have confirmed that rotating, organized and temporary power cuts can be implemented, which consist of disconnecting entire areas of the territory. But, with this possibility, many questions arise for the French: how will these cuts be organized, in which areas will they be applied, who will be exempt, will transport and schools be able to remain open?

· In what cases will they be programmed?

In the event of tensions in its electrical network, RTE will first issue an alert “to call on companies, communities and citizens to reduce their electricity consumption, between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. hours”, explains the Government on a dedicated page on its site.

In this case, the prefects must “gather without delay the State services and the main public and private actors” from the departments affected by these tensions to encourage local actors to reduce their electricity consumption.

In case of sufficient mobilization, the risk of cutting can be ruled out. On the other hand, if these prevention measures fail to improve the situation, two or three days after the first alert, RTE may request distributors to carry out localized and temporary cuts.

· How will the French be notified?

The authorities rely on the Ecowatt alert system to inform the French. A red alert signal will warn of unavoidable cuts if consumption does not drop after the alert is issued. A website has been created. to provide a real-time warning of the situation. After registering your phone number or email address, Ecowatt will warn you of the risk of cuts and will indicate the most effective eco-costs and when to apply them.

A ecowatt app It is also available on Apple Store and Google Play Store. By downloading it, notifications will be sent directly to your smartphone.

· How far in advance?

The inhabitants of the geographical areas affected by these tensions will have time to organize themselves. They will first be notified of the activation of a red alert from Ecowatt. So, between the issuance of this alert and the possible implementation of load shedding, three days will pass. Then the cuts will be confirmed the day before, around 5 pm

The Ecowatt site will display a map of the potentially affected departments around 9:30 p.m. and users will be able to enter their postal address to check their personal situation.

· What time of day and for how long?

According to RTE, these cuts should occur at peak times, in the morning between 8:00 and 1:00 p.m. and in the afternoon between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The cuts will have a maximum duration of two hours each time.

· Who will be affected?

The cuts will be “directed by a geographical area of ​​2,000 average customers (homes and professionals) supplied by the same power line”, indicates the Government on its site, that is, the equivalent of “a district in the city and up to several municipalities”. . In a rural area”. “Several power lines, distributed throughout the territory, are affected simultaneously”.

· Will there be exceptions?

The authorities will not disconnect hospitals or prisons. Areas that include sites considered “sensitive” such as fire stations, police or gendarmerie stations, prisons and hospitals, as well as industrial estates at risk or of interest for national defense, will not be affected by these load shedding.

French people living in an area that serves one of these sites will be “exempt from cuts.” But only a minority of people will be in this case.

· Will schools be affected?

Schools, on the other hand, are no exception to the rule.

“Schools located in a sector affected by a landslide in the morning will not receive children for the entire half day,” Matignon specifies in his circular addressed to the prefects.

These one-time closures will force parents to telecommute, take vacations, or find emergency childcare.

As for school transport, it will be adapted accordingly, in conjunction with local authorities.

· What will be the impact on transportation?

The power of the train will not suffer power outages. On the other hand, signaling could be affected. In this case, in order “not to take risks”, the traffic in the rest areas will be cut off.

· What about the telephone network?

Repeater antennas will not escape cuts. Result: it will be impossible to make phone calls in load shedding areas.

However, the Government wants to make “a priority” the possibility of reaching the emergency services. “RTE, Enedis, the ELD (local distribution companies, editor’s note) and the telephone operators are currently working to maintain access to the 112 emergency number as far as possible in the event of an organized power outage,” he specifies at his fair. . questions online.

· What will happen to the people cared for at home?

As for people cared for at home, under respiratory assistance for example, a specific monitoring and care system will be put in place.

In the event of a red alert from Ecowatt, they will be contacted by the managers of the electrical network. The latter, in conjunction with the Regional Health Agencies (ARS), must verify that these patients have “an autonomous and sufficient electrical supply of more than two hours.”

If this is not the case, the prefects and the emergency services will be able to organize their evacuation to the nearest health facility.

Author: Nina LeClerre
Source: BFM TV

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