French President Emmanuel Macron has said there is no reason to worry about possible power outages this winter in France, but he has called on citizens to reduce energy consumption and called on state-owned company EDF to restart nuclear reactors, to avoid interruptions in cold weather.
In an interview with the French TV station TF1, which was recorded during official visit to the United States Last week, Macron denied that EDF’s mismanagement of its nuclear reactor restart program was the reason behind the risk of France’s insistence on adopting a power outage rotation system.
French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington
“First of all, let’s be clear: don’t panic! It makes sense for the government to prepare for more difficult circumstances which could mean cutting electricity for a few hours a day, if we don’t have enough power,” Macron said.
The head of energy regulator RTE said on Thursday that France could face power outages “for a few days” this winter and that the government had started notifying local authorities of ways to handle the situation if that were to happen.
EDF has faced an unprecedented number of power outages in their nuclear reactors, This has led to reductions in nuclear power plant output to its lowest level in 30 years.
A civilian nuclear reactor in France
And this happens at a time when Europe is trying to find An alternative to Russian gas supplies Moscow cut in response to European Union sanctions related to its military operation in Ukraine.
“These are imaginary scenarios, but if we all adhere to the moderation plan presented by the Prime Minister a few months ago, and significantly reduce our consumption by 10% from normal levels… and if EDF continues its efforts… then We will get through this period, even though December and January were cold.”
French media have published reports on how to prepare for power outages, suggesting buying candles, unplugging fridges and freezers and recharging mobile phones.
Analysts say cold weather could lead to power outages as early as next Monday as delays in restarting nuclear reactors have left supplies below demand.
