Sobriety continues to take its toll on the energy system.
Whether in electricity or gas, consumption continues to decline in France.
Last week, the decline reached 8.5% for electricity, compared to the average for previous years (2014-2019, excluding health crisis), according to figures from the manager RTE.
This is even more for gas, according to GRTgaz: -11.2% over the period from August 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023 compared to the same winter period 2018-2019.
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Note that these data are restated for weather and calendar effects, for better comparison.
A work all the more important for the figures of last week, with the New Year at the end of the week.
Because, as RTE points out, the position of New Year's Day within the week “
largely determines electricity consumption
” for the week.
The electricity transmission manager's calculation for New Year's week therefore excludes "
years with too different calendar configurations
".
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RTE thus notes that “
the downward effect of consumption is maintained overall
” compared to the previous week (-7.4% that week).
The electrical system was undoubtedly well helped last week by temperatures “significantly above normal for the season
, with a positive difference reaching 9.2°C on Saturday December 31
”, notes RTE.
As for several weeks now, the fall in electricity consumption also concerns all sectors: industrial, tertiary and residential.
In addition, over the last four weeks, the drop in consumption has also reached -8.5%, notes RTE, which welcomes “
the real effect of the sobriety actions undertaken by individuals and businesses
”.
On the gas side, GRTgaz, the main gas carrier in France, observes that the drop in consumption "
results from a significant reduction in consumption by public distribution (-13.3%) and large industrialists connected to the transmission network (-22.8%)
”.
On the other hand, the "
greater demand on gas-fired power plants to ensure the balance of the electricity system
" partly compensates for these strong declines.
Gas consumption for this electricity production is thus up 38.5% this year compared to 2018-2019, the last pre-Covid winter.
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