Delete old emails to save electricity

Deleting old emails will save electricity and cut costs, the agency responsible for the maintenance of France's electricity network, Réseau de transport d'électricité (RTE), has said.

RTE said that power consumption has risen this week, as households turn up their central heating to cope with the cold weather - and, while it expects to be able to supply an unbroken service, it has activated its EcoWatt plan, which urges people to be aware of their energy consumption and advises on how they can cut down on electricity use relatively easily.

It warned that Brittany had briefly reached 'red levels' of energy consumption earlier in the week.

Much of the advice is common sense. RTE urged people to avoid using household appliances such as dryers and dishwashers at peak times - between the hours of 9am and 2pm, and 6pm and 8pm; turning off lights in empty rooms, and not leaving high-tech appliances such as TVs or computers in standby mode. Knocking a few degrees off the temperature of central heating when you leave your house empty for a few hours will also reduce consumption.

It also said that people could save electricity at home and in the office with simple measures such as deleting old or unnecessary emails, reducing brightness level on their computer screens, and printing only important documents.