French ministry reacts to energy crisis — RT World News
Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher says employees will work from home for four days as part of an energy-saving ‘experiment’
France’s Energy Transition Ministry has cut electricity to its offices for four days and asked employees to work from home, Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher has revealed. The initiative, which was also implemented by the country’s Ministry of Ecological Transition, aims to assess how much energy can be saved in this way.
Speaking to French radio station TF1 on Thursday, Pannier-Runacher explained that the planned power outage will last from December 30 to January 2 and will affect a total of nine government buildings.
« In our country, we have never had a study on what the development of telework could lead to in different structures,“, specifies the ministry.
The four-day experience should give officials a « precise idea of what this can allow in terms of energy savings.”
According to TF1, the ministry first tested the device in early November. However, with the heating season in full swing, the effectiveness of the measure needs to be reassessed again, officials said.
Although the heating in the affected offices has not been completely turned off, the temperature inside the offices is maintained at just over 8 degrees Celsius.
Last September, French President Emmanuel Macron called on his compatriots to reduce their energy consumption by 10% by 2024 amid the ongoing energy crisis in Europe.
Speaking to French radio Inter on Wednesday, Emmanuelle Wargon, head of CRE, the country’s energy watchdog, said the population had largely responded to authorities’ call, electricity consumption having fallen 8.7% over the past four weeks.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that France faced an increased risk of power shortages this winter following the decision by national grid operator Electricité de France (EDF) to extend maintenance shutdowns in several nuclear power plants.
Energy prices in Europe started to rise towards the end of 2021 following the Covid-19 pandemic. This situation worsened further at the end of February this year, when Russia launched its military offensive against Ukraine. At the end of August, gas prices reached a record high above €343 per megawatt hour.
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