no “major difficulties” next winter, says the president of Engie

Has France succeeded in averting the risk of running out of gas, a subject of concern in 2022? “At this stage, we are confident that we will get through next winter without major difficulties”says the president of the energy company Engie, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, in an interview with The gallery (link reserved for subscribers) Tuesday, April 25.

Despite the halt in the supply of Russian gas to Western Europe by gas pipeline, the latter is “managed to get through the winter (…) largely thanks to the reduction in energy consumption, which was remarkable: by 13% for gas, excluding the climate effect during the winter of 2022/2023”welcomes the leader.

For his optimistic predictions to come true, “we will have to manage to regain the energy savings of the previous winter and be very attentive to access to LNG”, liquefied natural gas to which France, in particular, has turned to find new sources of supply. “On average, between 150 and 160 LNG ships land each month in Europe, compared to 40 before the crisis”explains Jean-Pierre Clamadieu.

Gas stocks for winter are more than 50% full on average in Europe, and 35% in France, also notes the boss of Engie: “We are not under pressure at all”, he concludes. The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire confirmed on April 21 that the price shield on gas would end quickly, due to this favorable context and the drop in prices.