At what times would controlled power cuts occur this winter in France?

Reader Question: Do you know what time of day the controlled power cuts might occur if they are judged necessary?

If France’s electricity supply comes under significant strain this winter, and the risk of blackouts increases, providers may decide to carry out controlled power cuts to reduce the pressure on the system.

If cuts are deemed necessary, they will happen during peak usage periods, when the strain on the network is at its most intense.

Therefore, a power outage may occur between 08:00 and 13:00 or between 18:00 and 20:00. They will last for a maximum of two hours.

Rural areas are said to be the most at risk.

Read more: Why rural areas in France are expected to be worst hit by power cuts

Providers will warn consumers of an imminent power cut in advance so it should not come as a surprise.

A power cut will only occur if the EcoWatt usage barometer of electricity supply strain reaches a red alert level. If so, a notification will be issued three days in advance, reflecting that a power cut is inevitable in some parts of France if usage does not drop.

You can sign up for free to the EcoWatt app or for SMS alerts if you want to be notified.

Electricity network operators Enedis and RTE will release details of the addresses which will be affected by power cuts at 17:00 the day before, via their websites. Enedis also has an online tool through which customers can search an address or postcode and see whether it will be included in an outage.

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