Thanks to a raft of power-saving measures combined with its armada of nuclear power plants, France is now on the “right track” to avoid rolling blackouts this winter, one government minister has claimed.
Bruno Le Maire, the minister of finance and the economy within Emmanuel Macron’s French government, has now said that the European country is on the “right track” to avoiding rolling blackouts over the coming months.
The minister’s optimism stands in stark contrast to sentiments in other EU member states, with one energy watchdog in Germany warning that his nation’s energy-saving scheme needed to avoid shortages has now been put in jeopardy by a recent cold snap across northern Europe.
According to a report by Le Figaro, Minister Le Maire sees France as being in a strong position heading into the winter months as a result of the country’s huge network of nuclear power stations combined with the recent energy savings made by the French public.
“[W]e are on the right track,” the minister reportedly said, praising the public for their “eco-gestures”, resulting in power savings of just under 10 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic years.
“I urge them to continue, every kilowatt hour counts,” he continued. “If, collectively, we continue to be more careful compared to a normal winter, we will be able to avoid power cuts.”
The minister went on to emphasise that his government was also working hard to avert power shortages, saying that there is currently four nuclear power plants in the country currently being refurbished, and that he hoped they would be back in service by the end of January.
These four would reportedly join a further 41 atomic power stations already in service in the country, a network that has done plenty to help prevent energy issues in the wake of the Ukraine war.
In this, France stands in stark contrast to the likes of Germany, which has been left treading water in terms of its power grids since tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border back in late February.
While Germany has reportedly been able to save far more energy than France percentage-wise, due to the country’s green agenda which saw it become overly reliant on Russian gas and oil, the country will only likely be able to avoid shortages if it is able to cut consumption by 20 per cent on last year.
Such a goal has been made far harder by the fact that Germany continues to actively shut down nuclear power plants, decommissioning half of its remaining facilities late last year.
The country now only has three nuclear power stations online compared to France’s 41, though these too are planned to be put to pasture by the end of 2023 should the country’s green agenda-obsessed government continue to get their way.
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