French Electricity Operator Warns of Possible Power Cut

France may go through a period of reduced power given the weather and lower production capacity of the French nuclear giant EDF, warned Xavier Piechaczyk, president of the managing board of France's electricity transmission system operator RTE, on Thursday.

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Piechaczyk told the public radio channel France Inter that a power cut was possible but would only last "a few days."

If the country continues to lower consumption, a power cut could be avoided, he said, inviting citizen to use the website MonEcowatt to monitor the electricity situation in their neighborhoods and see if they are "potentially" affected by the cut.

France may face an electricity shortage in January 2023, according to RTE. Due to a harsh winter, heating consumption is likely to rise, thus causing red alerts over the grid.

The tweet reads, "Butchers are getting ready to protest against the increase in energy prices. Today they have arrived in amounts from all over France to the capital city."

Furthermore, the EDF is undergoing massive checks over its nuclear fleet, lowering electricity production. However, Piechaczyk was fairly confident in the EDF's generating capacity. "RTE expects a production capacity of 40 gigawatts by January... against around 36 today," he said.

"We are not announcing to the French that there will be cuts," French government spokesman Olivier Veran said on Thursday, trying to reassure the public.

"If we were to have a particularly cold month of January and no adaptation of certain behaviors, then we do not exclude the use of measures, including load shedding," Piechaczyk added.