There are “some risks” of tensions and power outages for the second half of February if it is very cold, although for the moment “most of the risks have been left behind,” the president of the RTE board of directors announced this Wednesday. the manager of the high and very high voltage network. “Most of the risks have been left behind,” the president of RTE’s board of directors, Xavier Piechaczyk, assured France Info, while warning that it will be necessary “to still be vigilant” because there remain “some risks” concentrated “around the second fortnight of February”.
RTE will publish in the morning the update of its electricity forecasts for the next four weeks. At its lowest point during the summer of 2022 due to maintenance and repair operations, the availability of nuclear reactors has increased in recent weeks, reaching 71.85% on Tuesday. On Tuesday, 43 of the 56 reactors at EDF’s nuclear park were connected to the grid, levels not seen in a long time, according to EDF data analyzed by AFP.
“France is better prepared”
“If we find ourselves with a tension in the system, I still want to say that France is better prepared to manage it,” Xavier Piechaczyk stressed. The relaxation of the French electricity grid is also explained by the “absolutely considerable” drop in electricity consumption. According to data published by RTE on Tuesday night, French electricity consumption (corrected for weather and calendar effects) fell by 8.2% in the last four weeks compared to the average for previous years (2014-2019, excluding the health crisis).
Source: BFM TV
