Attention. The light will go out on February 8, 2016. Prepare candles and flashlights. The economic recovery is awaited, the earth is warming up, but the French electricity grid is on the brink of saturation. It is the manager who says it, the discreet RTE, Réseau de Transport de l'Electricité, which estimates, taking into account the evolution of demand and in particular the extraordinary peak of 8 February 2009, that the French network, with its 100 kilometers of lines and pylons that irrigate the national economy will approach congestion in 2016. Two years to avoid the catastrophe that could plunge entire regions into darkness and chaos.
Two phenomena pointed out by the specialists. The first is paradoxical. The economic crisis, which leads to a reduction in electricity consumption, determines a reduction in prices and forces operators to close less profitable gas-fired plants. But precisely these, because they can be activated in a very short time, are extremely useful in the event of peaks in demand. Above all in the face of the diffusion, largely supported by EDF, of electric domestic heating. This makes it possible to amortize the cost of nuclear power plants, but causes consumption levels to skyrocket during the winter, up to double those recorded in the summer. This peculiarity leads to the singular situation of a France that is a net exporter of electricity on an annual basis, but forced to import in the event of cold spells. And the closure of unprofitable gas-fired plants further increases this dependence on foreign countries.
The second phenomenon is the sudden and massive irruption of electricity from renewable sources. Prioritizing dispatching, wind and photovoltaic energy reduce the electricity demand directed at gas or coal-fired thermal power plants, which further pushes them to close. This tidal wave turned into a tsunami when Berlin decided, without any concertation, to shut down half of its nuclear power plants. This measure was taken in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster and which unbalanced energy flows, not only across the Rhine, prompting the development of a new generation of less expensive coal-fired power plants, but also vis-à-vis neighboring countries.
To avoid a return to candles, three initiatives must be taken. Firstly: to harmonize and define a European energy policy that takes into account everyone's generation capacity and consumption patterns. Secondly: to strengthen energy saving programmes, especially in France, by detoxifying the Hexagon of its irrational taste for electric heating through static systems (not heat pumps, but radiant panels, ndt). Finally: invest. First of all in the extension of the network, to strengthen international interconnections, but above all by massively developing intelligent networks capable of managing production and demand with maximum efficiency.
