In France, concrete preparations have been made for a possible regional interruption of the power supply in the event of supply bottlenecks in winter.
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne wanted to instruct the departments on Wednesday to take precautions for the scenario of a controlled interruption of supply for a maximum of two hours, the government in Paris announced.
In that case, there would be significant local restrictions on public life. With a harsh winter in January, it is feared that power generation may not be able to meet demand at certain moments.
The reason for the risk of supply bottlenecks is the delayed maintenance of a number of nuclear power plants. A large number of the 56 French kilns are still off the grid. In this context, the government emphasized the solidarity agreement reached with Germany, according to which France is already supplying natural gas to Germany and, in return, is to receive electricity if necessary.
The government emphasized that the population would be informed in detail in the event of a power failure the day before. The central warning app called “EcoWatt” should be used for this purpose, which has already been launched and provides information about the load on the power grid. Clinics and other important facilities are not affected, it said.
The railways, metros, schools, universities and non-safety-related lighting may be. The functionality of the telephone network, which can be affected, is still a cause for concern. The need for an interruption could arise between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., it said.
