Faced with the energy crisis, France Télévisions undertook on Friday to make the French aware of the actions to be taken to avoid power cuts this winter, by relaying in particular Ecowatt, the electricity weather forecast, on its antennas. The president of the public audiovisual group, Delphine Ernotte, and her counterpart of RTE (Electricity transport network), manager of high and very high voltage lines, Xavier Piechaczyk, signed an “unprecedented partnership” on Friday in this direction.
Pictograms designed as part of the Ecowatt system
France Télé will thus display on its antennas, when the time comes, pictograms designed as part of the Ecowatt system, which allows users to see in real time the level of electricity available in the country thanks to a signal in three colors: green ( normal), orange (tense), and red (very tense, synonymous with inevitable cuts if nothing is done to reduce consumption). Concretely, the televiewers will be invited to modify their practices according to the pictogram on the screen, the red having to push them to moderate their consumption during the peaks, between 8 am and midday and between 6 pm and 8 pm.
If it is not necessary to turn off your TV, not the most energy-intensive, “you can for example start your washing machine at 10 p.m. rather than 7 p.m.”, explains Delphine Ernotte to AFP. You can also postpone the cooking of your “zucchini gratin” from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., abounds Xavier Piechaczyk, recalling that heating and cooking are very energy-intensive.
A public service mission, claims Ernotte
So many gestures to which the public of France Télé will be made aware, that is to say “four out of five French people each week”, in particular during information programs or “weather and climate” bulletins, according to Delphine Ernotte, who claims a public service mission. It is not a question of “putting France to a halt”, only of “being careful when necessary”, insists Xavier Piechaczyk, who hopes to “save at least 5% of electricity in the evening at 7 p.m.”.
For France Télé, this initiative is part of a larger “environmental shift” to respond to “the climate emergency”, with in particular the creation of a “climate team” among journalists or the “regular relocation” of 1 p.m. of France 2 on the places hit by the crisis… The group also undertakes to respect various measures of energy sobriety internally, such as the extinction of lights in all its buildings from 9:30 p.m., and to work with production respecting certain criteria, particularly in terms of carbon footprint.