The tertiary sector, a poor student of energy sobriety? In any case, this is the sector for which electricity consumption has stagnated in recent days, unlike industry and individuals, according to statements made on Thursday by Xavier Piechaczyk, chairman of the management board of RTE, the French electricity network manager. .
Guest of France Info, he gave details on the current evolution of electricity consumption: “France consumes approximately – 6% compared to a normal year. This decline is mainly due to the industry which has limited its production, due to extremely high electricity prices.
Other sectors have supply difficulties, “like the automobile, so that slows down production”. He thus evokes a drop of around 15% in consumption in the industrial sector. Among individuals, the effects of a drop in consumption are beginning to be visible, “around one percent”, announced Xavier Piechaczyk.
On the other hand, the chairman of the executive board of RTE pointed to the absence of a drop in consumption in the tertiary sector, mainly at the level of office buildings. “We can act by switching to LEDs, two thirds of the park are equipped with old bulbs and neon lights. You have to heat less and when a building is empty, it has to be turned off. We insist a lot on the action of companies, because it is a big part of consumption, ”he recalled.
Possible known cuts “on D-3”
Xavier Piechaczyk, however, was optimistic: “It’s a risky situation, but cuts are not inevitable. We are able to identify risks and we prepare for risks. We ensure that the French are penalized as little as possible (…) Nor are we asking the French to stop living. »
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Asked about the time the French would have to anticipate a cut, he explained that the network was able to “warn at D-3, since it is at this time that we have a precise and reliable idea of the weather. “. Temperatures will be a risk adjustment variable: “If it’s hot, there’s no risk. The colder it is, the greater the risk. »
In the event of a red Ecowatt signal, that is to say the highest level of risk, the French will therefore have three days to prepare and “avoid the risk of load shedding”. The signal anticipated at D-3 will finally be confirmed the day before and an “electricity weather forecast” is in place to inform the French.
The president of RTE thus encouraged the French to download the Ecowatt application, in order to be informed in real time of the situation. “We are at 470,000 subscribers by SMS and 300,000 downloads of the application, it is not enough,” he acknowledged.
In the event of a cut, the health establishments not concerned
Xavier Piechaczyk also gave details on the methods of applying power cuts if these were to be unavoidable. They will thus take place between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. maximum, the most tense time slots on the network.
They will not affect one region more than another: “We distribute these cuts throughout the territory so that the network does not become unbalanced”, explained the chairman of the executive board of RTE, who specifies that “a few million French will be concerned at the same time. “But if we make all the gestures, it will be much less,” he added.
It also ensures that an interactive device is being created to allow individuals to know the situation in their neighborhood and if they are likely to suffer a cut, by entering their address. Neighborhoods near “health, defense or security” establishments should not be affected by cuts, as the electricity supply must be maintained there.