French gas supplies filled but residents urged to control usage

French gas supplies have been filled to capacity ahead of the winter, energy regulator the Commission de régulation de l’énergie (CRE) has announced, while still appealing to residents to reduce their usage.

“The mission to fill our winter 2022-23 reserves has finished at more than 99%,” the CRE said in a statement yesterday (October 5).

This makes France the third European country behind Belgium and Portugal to reach capacity with regards to gas supplies.

The 130 TWh accumulated “represents around two thirds of the winter consumption of small and medium sized businesses and individuals,” the CRE added.

It also called, however, for a “massive collective effort aiming to reduce our energy consumption.

Read more: Enedis’ right to turn off water heaters in France: Are you affected?

“The CRE reminds [you] that situations [where supplies come] under strain are still possible, depending on the type of winter conditions we have.”

France’s government has since the summer been calling for “energy restraint”, aiming for the population to reduce its consumption by 10% over the next two years, as tensions over supplies continue as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It is due to present a ‘plan de sobriété énergétique’ today (October 6) at around 17:00.

Russian exports of gas to France stopped on September 1, with Russia saying that it had not “received full payment for the gas supplied to Engie in July under existing contracts”.

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