The lights of the Eiffel Tower will be switched off from 11pm (local time) and government buildings from 10pm as part of new energy-saving measures, the mayor of Paris announced.
The mayor of the French capital said that “the night lights of the municipal buildings in the capital will be turned off.”
And at the end of last August, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne said that in the worst-case scenario, next winter could see two-hour blackouts for French homes, amid a widespread energy crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
“This situation is partly due to the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as plans to shut down about half of France’s 56 nuclear reactors for maintenance,” Bourne said.
It is worth noting that France relies on nuclear energy to produce about 67% of its electricity needs and gas to produce about 7%.
“This means that we will generate less electricity, and there may be times, especially if the weather is very cold, that we may struggle to supply electricity. In such situations, we will alternate electricity from block to block. We’ll hang up, at no charge.” More than two hours, Bourne added.
He explained that such a decision was motivated by a combination of adverse conditions, including Russian gas cuts, restrictions on liquefied natural gas imports and a very cold winter.
In this regard, the Russian state energy company “Gazprom” announced last August that it will stop all gas shipments to the French company “Engee” due to financial disputes. Engi said it already has enough gas to meet its customer commitments.
Agnes Panier Ronach, the French energy minister, also announced in August that the country’s strategic energy reserves are 90%.
Last June, France implemented the “Energy Rationalization” plan, which aims to reduce energy consumption by 10% by 2024.
Source: Lebanon Debate
