Macron to hold defense council meeting on energy situation

MOSCOW, Sep 2 — PRIME. French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a meeting of the defense and national security council on Friday morning due to the energy situation.

It will be attended by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Born, Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, and Energy Transformation Minister Agnès Pannier-Runachet.

The council meeting, which will be chaired by Macron, will focus on the situation with gas supplies and rising electricity prices ahead of winter.

The French authorities intend to assess the current situation and, if necessary, make a number of decisions regarding the possibilities for the production of electricity against the backdrop of the difficulties faced by the French energy company EDF, radio station France Info previously reported.

At the moment, only 24 of the 56 French nuclear reactors operated by EDF in the country are active. Some of them were stopped for planned repairs. Corrosion problems in the cooling systems were identified at 12 power units in May, and their work was suspended. EDF said last week that it would extend the repair time for 4 of those 12 reactors.

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.

Earlier, French media reported that the wholesale price of electricity in France will reach a record high in 2023, exceeding the mark of 1,000 euros per megawatt-hour, which is 1,000% more than a year earlier.

At the end of July, French Cabinet spokesman Olivier Veran said that France was in an “unprecedentedly difficult” situation in terms of electricity production. The French government has already taken a number of drastic measures to save energy. So, for this purpose, the country expanded the ban on illuminated advertising, and shops were forbidden to keep the doors open when the air conditioner or heating system is running. Retail outlets must turn off illuminated signs and air ventilation at night, dim lighting by 50% before customers arrive, and by 30% during normal hours in case of a critical level of power consumption.