how to know if you will be affected in the event of power cuts

The public authorities are preparing for possible scheduled and targeted power cuts this winter in the event of an overload of the electricity network if it is very cold. How will they be organised, who will be affected and how can they be avoided?

After the reassuring words in the fall and the promotion of co-gestures and turtlenecks in November, the signals of the last few days are alarmist or alarming. Electricity cuts – programs and targets – in January are more topical than ever according to several political leaders such as the Minister of National Education who is considering class closures.

Commonplace in many foreign countries where sensitive customers have emergency generators, these load shedding would be unprecedented in France, confirms RTE, the manager of the electricity network.

The interministerial crisis unit is working on the hypothesis of six to ten power cuts during the winter. Corsica, which has its own production, is not concerned. And this is where the EcoWatt site will have to prove itself… if the French download the application and register for alerts, which is not really the case today.

What happens in the event of a red EcoWatt signal?

In the Ecowatt nomenclature, Le green means that the power consumption is normal, orange to warn that the supply is stretched and encourage energy savings to avoid passing the signal red.

But a few days are risky this winter according to RTE. In the event of strong tensions, the manager will send three days ahead a red EcoWatt signal. In the worst case, it would be necessary to reduce national consumption in proportions of between 15%. In the event of extreme weather conditions, this effort could go up to 15%.

If the co-gestures on the part of consumers are not sufficient, cuts become inevitable. These target cuts will last a maximum of two consecutive hours in parts of the department. In such a case, the households concerned will be notified the day before. The 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. slots are mainly overused.

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A website to find out if its address is concerned

Website Enedis temporary cuts and monecowatt.fr will publish the day before around 5 p.m. the list of departments that will be affected and will offer a function to find out more precisely which address is concerned. Such cuts should not affect more than 4 million customers simultaneously.

No cell phones

Without exception, mobile phone and internet will not work in off-load areas, as well as the landline telephone (excluding copper line with T-socket) and it will be advisable to call the emergency number 112 to reach the emergency services, according to a circular sent to the prefects and consulted by the AFP

The prefects will have a map of the areas not covered by this number and will have to reinforce the human presence in the fire stations, police stations and police stations in order to be able to physically receive a request for help.

Trains, metros or trams may be canceled or interrupted to avoid having passengers stuck in the middle of the track. As public lighting can go out, French people will be asked to limit their car trips as much as possible in the event of a blackout in the evening.

Who won’t kick?

Part of the population will never be offloaded because of priority, or connected by chance to a priority line serving a hospital, a critical or sensitive site for national defence. In all, around 14,000 priority sites according to lists drawn up by the prefects. In the capital, only 20% of electricity consumption can be cut, in particular because of the concentration of priority sites, explains the government.

source site-96