The power cuts, which had created so many fears, finally did not take place thanks to the moderation of the French.
Was the winter of 2022-2023 going to be that of power cuts? It was a scenario that was not ruled out either by specialists or by the government. But in the end, France managed to get through the winter months without resorting to such extremes. Today, the report provided by RTE explains the reasons for this success.
French efforts paid off
One news chasing another, it can be difficult to recreate the atmosphere a few months ago in the country, when everyone was talking about possible power cuts. At that time, France seemed particularly at risk compared to other European countries.
But in the end, RTE did not have to issue EcoWatt alerts during this winter. A success that is due to the sharp decline in French electricity consumption and [aux] imports from European neighbors “, according to the manager of the electricity network.
” The gross decrease in consumption was very significant over the period (October to February) » is it thus explained. The French, taken by the rise in prices, and responding to calls for sobriety, thus saw their consumption drop sharply by -9%.
The weather, the other chance of winter
Other factors have allowed the system to hold. The interconnection with European neighbors was thus good, according to RTE, and enabled the import of a total of 15 GW of electricity. These two factors combined resulted in a saving of 20 terawatt-hours during the period analyzed.
The other important factor was the weather. With the winter milder than normal, the energy used by the French has been reduced. And as a result, the country has been able to save 7 terawatt-hours in recent months.
It is difficult for the moment to know if this decline will be permanent or if consumption is ready to start rising again in the event of an improvement in the conditions of electricity supply. RTE simply indicates that without the combination of its factors, 12 red EcoWatt signals could have been broadcast.
Source : TEN, France Info
28