No one will be spared. Including patients at “high vital risk”. This was announced Monday evening by Laurent Méric, spokesperson for Enedis on BFMTV. “People who are at high vital risk are not among the priority customers defined by the prefectures”, according to the representative, about the power cuts which must occur this winter. Words that forced Matignon, who wants to be reassuring about these cuts, to reframe Enedis, according to information from BFMTV.
At the same time, traveling to Albania, Emmanuel Macron also reacted: “The scenarios of fear are no”. It is a reframing that the French president has made by directly targeting the authorities and public companies which, according to him, “are starting to scare people”. In a speech that lasted only a few minutes on Tuesday, he assured that “we will hold out this winter despite the war. So I ask everyone to do their job. He also considered “stupid” the “debate” he had “heard in recent hours”.
“Dischargeable” patients
The spokesperson had explained on BFMTV that patients on artificial respirators will be “non-priority” and “possibly relieved”. They are called upon to report to their regional health agency (ARS) which will list them with Enedis. The company should contact them two days before the cut: “We will call them, we will send them an SMS, an email, to see if they have taken precautions. »
These high-risk patients can then be “helped” and taken “to a place that will not be relieved so that the greatest guarantee is provided to them”.
The interministerial crisis unit is working on the hypothesis of six to ten power cuts during the winter, to compensate for the drop in electricity production. The French will be warned by a red EcoWatt signal sent by RTE, the manager of high and very high voltage lines. The risk is “a few days of red EcoWatt throughout the winter”, warned Xavier Piechaczyk, the chairman of the executive board of RTE on Franceinfo on Thursday, even if it depends “essentially” on the weather.
In the event of high voltages, RTE will send a red EcoWatt signal three days in advance. If consumption decreases and neighboring countries can supply electricity, the blackout will be avoided. If this is not enough, load shedding will be confirmed the day before for the next day as a “last resort”.
VIDEO. Power cuts this winter: what should we expect?
Power cuts would be “inevitable if electricity consumption does not decrease” at peak times of the day (between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.), warns RTE, which forecasts the month of January as the most at risk.
These targeted cuts will last a maximum of two consecutive hours in parts of the departments. Objective: to avoid the “blackout”, a general breakdown with much more serious consequences.