March 16 (Reuters) – A drop in power consumption from October to February, mild weather and imports from neighboring countries ensured France avoided electricity grid red alerts this winter, grid operator RTE said on Thursday.
A demand drop of about 20 terawatt hours (TWh), or 9%, compared with seasonal norms helped the country avoid up to 12 red alerts on the Ecowatt system put in place in forced cuts were needed from some sectors, the operator said.
Lastly, imports reached 15 gigawatts (GW) on some days, helping the country to avoid a red signal.
“We were able to get through the winter without an EcoWatt signal, and above all without a power cut. We should rejoice,” said Xavier Piechaczyk, chairman of RTE’s executive board.
Source - Low demand prevented electricity red alerts in France
© Thompson-Reuters
