The risk of tensions for the electrical network in January now appears as “average”, according to the latest analysis of the high and extra high voltage network manager RTE, which had previously placed it as a “high” risk month.
“Provided that energy saving efforts are maintained, these favorable developments make it possible to reduce the risk to security of supply compared to the anticipation of recent months, particularly for the month of January (…) without being able to exclude it in the event of very unfavorable weather conditions,” RTE said in the latest update of its outlook for the power system for the next four weeks.
“France enters the heart of winter in a more favorable situation than in early autumn, and better prepared to deal with situations of tension,” says the manager. This favorable development is due to a sharp decline 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 “replenished” during the autumn, while gas stocks were preserved thanks to the mild temperatures of October and November. Another notable improvement is the availability of the nuclear fleet, whose capacity exceeded 40 gigawatts (GW) as of the week of December 12, after the restart of many reactors.
All of “these elements reduce the risk of the Ecowatt red signal being issued” compared to the baseline scenario established by RTE in September. This signal warns of the risk of targeted outages unless there are substantial reductions in electricity consumption.
