“Let’s prepare for the total cut off of Russian gas, this is the most likely option today. That supposes that we accelerate our energy independence”, pleaded during the Economic Meetings of Aix-en-Provence the number 2 of the French government, which wants to take advantage of the summer to “put itself in battle order” before winter. . “We are fiercely independent. The first independence must be energy, ”he hammered in Aix.
In terms of supply, “we can have tensions on gas this winter”, warned Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Saturday during a meeting with the press. To avoid shortages, the government has requested that national gas storage capacities be filled to “nearly 100%” by the beginning of the fall.
“On electricity, normally, according to EDF’s projections, we should have higher production as the twelve reactors (out of 56) currently shut down for corrosion will restart, Borne said on Saturday.
But if electricity were to run out, the government is preparing for the winter a series of measures intended to prioritize households and certain industries.
Distribute the effort
Thus certain industrial sites might be asked to “slow down their energy consumption, or even stop their energy consumption for a certain time”, explained Le Maire, while specifying that “it is totally impossible” for some sites, so as not to “break the industrial tool”.
Faced with the risk that Vladimir Poutine cuts the gas tap to Europe, “a credible option” said Bruno Le Maire in an interview with LCI on the sidelines of the Aix Meetings, we must “anticipate the consequences”. France, which claims to be in a more “favourable” situation than its neighbours, must in particular acquire a new floating LNG terminal next year to ensure its supply.
“We must distribute the effort between administrations, individuals and companies”, explained Bruno Le Maire.
The government has also launched three working groups to improve energy sobriety in the administration, businesses and establishments open to the public. The objective is to establish a roadmap to reduce energy consumption by 10% within two years compared to 2019.