At the end of the Energy Defense Council on Friday, the Minister for Energy Transition affirms that French gas stocks are currently 92% full.
The Defense Council, known to the French for having met more than a hundred times during the coronavirus epidemic, made its big comeback this Friday, this time devoted to the question of energy. Against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions triggered by the war in Ukraine, this body aimed to “take stock of the progress of the work undertaken before the summer” and of “define next steps“, as part of the “general mobilization“, announced by the President of the Republic on July 14. At the end of this Council, the Minister for Energy Transition specified that “proportionate and reasonable collective effortsmay be requested, but that “the state will play its part and be exemplary“.
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Wanting to be reassuring, Agnès Pannier-Runacher explains at the end of this Council meeting that “the government has been anticipating the situation for several months», and that in anticipation of winter, French gas stocks are 92% full. “We are almost at the goal with two months in advance“, welcomes the minister, because”our LNG terminals are running at full speed“.
While 32 French nuclear reactors are currently shut down, the Minister specified that these closures were due to “stress corrosion» as well as «usual maintenance“, but that EDF had “committed to restarting all reactors for this winter“. The government will show itself according to her “particularly vigilant that this schedule is kept“.
“Sobriety chosen to avoid cuts suffered»
Outlining the various measures put in place, such as the diversification of gas supplies thanks to European solidarity as well as the energy sobriety plan launched by Élisabeth Borne, the Minister specified that Russian gas deliveries were currently “at the lowest“, but “not cut“.
The energy sobriety plan that will be implemented in the coming months will involve a 10% reduction in energy consumption, but will not require “companies to reduce their production or activity“. It is about setting up asobriety chosen to avoid cuts suffered“. Measures of “waste hunting“will be”essential to avoid having to put in place more restrictive measures“, specifies the minister.
SEE ALSO – Energy Defense Council: Agnès Pannier-Runacher pleads for “chosen sobriety rather than suffered cuts”