Should French people who heat themselves with gas be afraid of being cold this winter? Invited this Tuesday evening on the set of the program “Quotidien” on TMC, Elisabeth Borne was obviously immediately questioned on the subject that challenges her compatriots the most: the country’s energy supply and its ability to pass the winter. The head of government has made every effort to reassure the households concerned.
“The cuts, they do not concern households (…) we are not going to cut the gas in French households, but it is on our companies, the large consumers, that there could be cuts”, affirms. -she. On the other hand, she did not hide that, in “the worst scenario”, power cuts of two hours, district by district, could be decided. A hypothesis that the government seeks to avoid at all costs.
Fares are set to increase on January 1
To avoid these cuts, she again invited the French, individuals and businesses, to reduce their consumption of gas or electricity, while certain nuclear reactors producing electricity are stopped. “Anything we can do to lower our consumption will prevent us from getting into situations where we should have cuts,” she said. Prices are expected to increase from next January. “We are not going to freeze prices forever,” she explains. There will certainly be increases in the price of gas and electricity in January 2023”. However, there is no question of letting the bills soar. “We are not going to expose the French to an explosion in electricity prices! “, she promises.
Gas cuts for companies could occur “if all the wrong assumptions come together: if Russia cuts its supplies, if ever there is tension on LNG (liquefied natural gas) and that the orders we have placed are not honored, if there is a very cold winter, ”she listed. The head of government explained again that she was in favor of “radical measures” in terms of ecological transition but that she did not support a model of “degrowth”.
“In France, we are all attached to our social model (…) We have to reconcile radical changes to fight against climate change, but that should not lead us to plead for a society of decline. Financing our social model is not compatible with those who argue for decline. We need to find a new model of sustainable growth,” she said. Monday in front of the Medef, Elisabeth Borne had urged companies to quickly reduce their energy consumption so as to avoid “rationing” measures.