The factory that makes the iconic French bistro glass idles its furnace to offset rising energy costs. Cities across France have turned off street lights and other outdoor lighting to reduce electricity use. In Normandy, some schools will start burning wood to heat classrooms to conserve natural gas.
France is embarking on its biggest energy conservation effort since the oil crisis of the 1970s, as Russia tightens its grip on Europe’s energy supply. The government, led by President Emmanuel Macron, has called on French people to prepare for a new era of energy “moderation” to face the threat of a harsh winter, while reassured them of their government’s ability to protect homes and businesses.
“We are facing a series of crises, one grave crisis at a time,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation late last month. “The picture I am painting is him at the end of abundance,” he added. “We have reached a tipping point.”
A nationwide effort calls on businesses and individuals to embrace energy savings by carpooling more, turning down thermostats and turning off illuminated billboards at night.
On Friday, Energy Transition Minister Agnès Panier-Lunacher tried to reassure cautious citizens, saying the government would try to “avoid measures to limit” energy use during the cold winter peaks.
The government, which has spared more than €26 billion ($26 billion) since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to keep gas and electricity prices affordable, lifted a cap on household energy bills last week. announced that it will be extended until the end of the year. Moves to keep energy costs down, including the renationalization of his energy provider EDF, have pushed France’s inflation rate to its lowest in Europe at 6.5%. (He was 9.1% for the Eurozone as a whole in August.)
But with food and fuel costs still weighing on French households, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has called on businesses to quickly realize most of the country’s energy savings. Businesses will be forced to distribute electricity and gas unless he reduces energy usage by 10%.
Companies will have to appoint “electricity saving ambassadors” this month and submit blueprints to the government to reduce electricity consumption.
France is not the only country trying to tackle the severe energy crisis posed by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom cut gas supplies to France last week as President Vladimir V. Putin signaled his intention to use the energy as a weapon.
Countries, including France, have built up their reserves as Gazprom shut the tap. French gas storage facilities were 92% full this weekend. Yet home and business energy bills are skyrocketing, forcing European governments to resort to a variety of offsets that were almost unthinkable before the war.
Germany, Europe’s biggest user of Russian gas, is moving toward scrapping plans to shut down its last nuclear power plant by the end of the year, and on Sunday announced a $65 billion deal to ease the burden of high energy costs for its citizens. announced a dollar aid package. Italy looks to Algeria as a potential natural gas supplier to replace Russia’s fuel. In Spain, the government has launched significant efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and industry.
France seems less vulnerable than its neighbors. She has the largest nuclear arsenal of any European Union country and is one of the least dependent on Russian natural gas. But France faces its own energy crisis. EDF has been forced to temporarily shut down 32 of her 56 reactors in France as the nuclear industry grapples with cracks, corrosion and other problems.
A blackout at EDF, Europe’s largest electricity exporter, has plunged France’s nuclear production to its lowest level in nearly 30 years. What’s more, France’s worst drought in 30 years this summer has lowered river levels and cut off hydroelectric power supplies.
Instead of using Russian fuel to power the UK, Italy and other European countries in bulk, France will begin rolling blackouts in the winter and import power or use coal to meet its energy needs. We face the uneasy prospect of having to rely on power plants. A scenario the government desperately wants to avoid.
The crisis is already forcing energy-intensive companies, including steel, chemicals and glass manufacturers, to temporarily shut down operations. On Friday, his 2023 wholesale electricity prices in France set a record, surpassing €1,000 per MWh. Many French companies and retailers are buying power on his expiring three-year contract. In other words, it should be updated with the peak price.
Duralex International, Manufacturer of classic bistro wine glasses and water glasses.
The company said it had been facing “a very unfavorable financial production situation linked only to energy prices for several months” that exploded after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Duralex president Jose Luis Lacuna said in a statement that “production at daily energy prices would result in unsustainable losses”, adding that the plant could not restart until the second quarter of 2023. He added that he did not expect it.
and crystal darkGuillaume Lavell Suquet, head of communications at French maker of elegant crystal wine goblets, told French television that the company’s gas bill had quadrupled since the end of last year to €75 million and that prices had to come down. It could reach 260 million euros by 2023, making the project “economically unviable,” he said. ”
The government, which seeks to offset some, if not all, of the pain for businesses, recently announced a special €3 billion fund to help businesses unable to pay their energy bills.
Faced with a tough presidential campaign in April that saw far-right challenger Marine Le Pen gain support by addressing French families’ concerns about purchasing power, Macron shielded households from rising energy costs I have focused on doing
France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said last week that the 4% cap on household electricity bills that started last winter would be extended until the end of the year and will continue until 2023 for vulnerable households. The price cap stands in stark contrast to his 80% increase in energy bills UK households are expected to face next month.
Without the cap, French inflation would be about 3 percentage points higher. French statistical agency Insee said in a report published on Friday:
Still, the French public will have to relax, Mr Born warned. In recent days, the government has issued an announcement asking French people to limit various activities in hopes of jointly saving energy. These include using your washing machine less at night, keeping your thermostat at 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and using public transportation more.
Towns and cities across the country have been asked to double down on energy savings in almost any way they see fit. began to close. Other cities have restricted public lighting, which accounts for more than 40% of his electricity bill.
The town of Thouards in western France will turn off its street lights from 10pm to 6am from June and replace the light bulbs with LED lights. Strasbourg, a medium-sized city on the German border, closes its museums two days a week instead of one.
In northern France, some high schools in Brittany will turn down their thermostats, while in nearby Normandy, some schools are experimenting with using wood stoves for heating instead of gas.
Businesses must also submit plans to reduce electricity consumption by 10% by October.
“We need a radical change,” Bourne said. “Everyone should ask themselves what can be done to reduce consumption.”