The electrical network under surveillance. The supply of electricity to France is the subject of a heightened level of vigilance for January, underlines Thursday, December 30, RTE, the network manager. A situation which can be explained in particular by the low availability of nuclear power plants, linked to a busy maintenance schedule, further disrupted by the 2020 lockdowns.
However, the occurrence of severe and lasting cold episodes, sources of consumption peaks, appears “very unlikely” during the first half of January, and for the rest “unlikely” (however with a higher degree of uncertainty), notes RTE in an analysis note. However, the manager is anticipating a series of measures, due to the strong tensions observed in Europe and in France.
In the event of cold, in the order of 4 ° C below normal, or very low wind power production in Europe, RTE foresees an interruption of large industrial consumers and a drop in voltage on the networks. “As a last resort”, in the event of unusual cold over several days coupled with an absence of wind, or further degradation of capacities, particularly nuclear, RTE may also “potentially resort to targeted consumer cuts”, he warns.
RTE assesses the provisional availability of the nuclear fleet between 43 and 51 gigawatts for most of January, i.e. “the lowest level ever reached for the nuclear fleet at this time of the year”. The year should start with 12 reactors out of 56, before an improvement during the month.
In addition to maintenance activities, this reduced availability of the nuclear fleet is also explained by the shutdown in mid-December of two reactors in Chooz (Ardennes), “as a precaution”, and the extension of the Civaux (Vienne) shutdown, after the detection of faults on safety circuits.