France may cut off electricity in winter

MOSCOW, 19 Sep — PRIME. France may turn off electricity if the winter is cold, there are no plans to turn off gas in households, Emmanuelle Vargon, president of the French Committee for the Regulation of Energy (CRE), said Monday on France Info TV channel.

“In the case of electricity, when we use all possible measures to reduce (consumption), we can face the most severe cases … that is, spot outages for several hours on a relatively small scale – in a commune or block,” she said, adding, that the measures are “slightly exceptional” but not “impossible”.

According to Vargon, all businesses and households with a shortage of resources will receive notifications to reduce gas and electricity consumption. If the measure does not affect the volume of energy, the French authorities may turn off the electricity. She stressed that the decision will affect only enterprises.

This summer, the French government launched an “energy sobriety” program with the goal of reducing electricity consumption by 10% to avoid shortages in the coming winter. The government called on businesses and transport companies to submit specific plans to reduce energy consumption. Some French companies, including two major glassmakers Duralex and Arc, said they had already reduced production volumes and transferred a number of employees to part-time work. Also, due to increased energy bills in the country, about 30 swimming pools, including the largest sports complex in Paris, Pailleron, stopped working.