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Paris (AFP) – The risk of tensions for the electricity network in January now appears to be “medium”, according to the latest analysis by the manager of the high and very high voltage network RTE, which had previously placed it as a “high” risk month.
“Provided that energy saving efforts are maintained, these favorable developments reduce the risk to security of supply compared to the anticipation of recent months, in particular for the month of January (… ) without being able to exclude it in the event of very unfavorable weather conditions”, RTE estimated on Tuesday in the latest update of its outlook for the electricity system for the next four weeks.
“France is approaching the heart of winter in a more favorable situation than at the beginning of autumn, and better prepared to deal with situations of tension”, affirms the manager.
This favorable development is due to a sharp drop in consumption which is “now firmly established”, with a decline of 9% over the last four weeks.
In addition, hydraulic stocks, which had suffered from the drought, were able to be “reconstituted” during the autumn, while gas stocks were preserved thanks to the mild temperatures of October and November.
Another notable improvement: the availability of the nuclear fleet, the capacity of which exceeded 40 gigawatts (GW) as of the week of December 12 after the return to service of many reactors.
All of “these elements make it possible to reduce the risk of emission of the Ecowatt red signal” compared to the basic scenario established by RTE in September. This signal warns of the risk of targeted cuts unless there are substantial reductions in electricity consumption.
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