Lowering the temperature in case of absence, shifting the use of household appliances, turning off lights not in use… All “eco-gestures” are welcome to save energy, according to the French manager of the Transport Network of electricity (TEN). Especially in the event of an orange or red alert, when power outages threaten the electrical system, due to insufficient production compared to demand. RTE may present the situation as exceptional, but the manager recognizes that it could happen again. “We are preparing for another three or four tense, even very tense winters”reminds the World Xavier Piechaczyk, Chairman of the Board of RTE.
At the start of spring, on the morning of Monday April 4, it was already orange alert. In view of the temperatures, the lowest since 1947 at this time of year, the network manager had warned households, businesses and communities two days before. At 8:45 a.m. Monday, consumption finally peaked at 71.6 gigawatts (GW). The mobilization of companies – such as the Carrefour distribution chain, which did not fail to make it known – or of individuals enabled a reduction of 0.8 GW. As if two towns the equivalent of Montpellier had stopped consuming. At this stage, the manager is not in a position to detail the distribution of these gestures, made without financial consideration.
“Three levels of protection”
Conversely, another drop, of 0.6 GW, was remunerated: the load shedding mechanism, the amounts of which remain confidential, consists of buying back the current from companies who sell it according to supply and demand. . In the event of a red alert, the network manager can still activate another lever, as was the case on January 8, 2021. On that day, RTE cut power to 16 industrial sites in the space of a few seconds, in the name of interruptibility contracts.
Ecogestures, curtailment, interruptibility… these three levels are supposed, one after the other, to avoid depriving households of electricity. “These three levels of protection will make it possible to keep a stable electrical system, without having to consider planned outages as a last resort”, argues Xavier Piechaczyk.
“Signals will be emitted when there are cold spells and when production is low, either from the nuclear fleet or from renewable energies” Xavier Piechaczyk, Chairman of the Executive Board of RTE
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