Is France ready to face the first cold snap of winter?
France is ready to tackle this winter period. Our gas reserves are full and we are confident about our ability to produce electricity thanks to our nuclear and hydraulic production. We have built up the necessary gas stocks to meet our needs for the winter, and even support our European neighbors if the need arises, of course.
For several days, you have been traveling to France to see this capacity. Is your visit to the Landes part of this?
We will check on Friday at the Lussagnet gas storage site (on the borders of the Landes and Gers departments, Editor's note). We will measure this stock at the national level. We are ready. Last week, in the same context, I was at the Nogent-sur-Seine power plant.
Our power plants are well positioned to produce and they completed their maintenance program before winter. I want to thank all the agents involved in this winter preparation work.
This Landes site of Lussagnet represents a quarter of French stocks…
It is one of two storage sites operated by Terega. A quarter of French gas capacity is stored on this Lussagnet site, along with that of Izaute. It is a very important storage facility on a site in operation since 1957. It is essential to the country's energy security.
Despite the context that you describe, a coal-fired power plant has been relaunched in Moselle. Is the objective of phasing out coal in 2027 still relevant?
Our goal is to exit this energy in 2027, and we will keep it. The restart of this plant is not a request from the transmission network manager. We produce enough electricity to meet demand.
It is an initiative by the site operator to sell energy on the European market. I repeat, carbon-free production is running at full capacity to ensure the supply of electricity in France.
A drop in the price of electricity of 9% was announced on 1is FEBRUARY. Does the rejection of the budget by the National Assembly call this into question?
Following this rejection by the deputies, it is the government's copy which will be examined in the Senate, with a reduction of 9% for households benefiting from the regulated tariff. Thanks to the system that is proposed, namely a fixed part of the tax and a variable part (which will adjust according to the market price), we will be able to ensure this reduction (up to 9%) for French people who are at the regulated electricity sales rate and for those who are indexed to this rate.
How many people are affected?
Around 80% of households. The others are closest to the market and have already seen their bills drop. They could see an increase with the variation in the tax.
Is there a current plan to support businesses?
We still have many industrial sites that use fossil fuels. An additional envelope (up to 1.55 billion euros) will be devoted to their decarbonization. This is also very good news for the energy sector, which will be able to sell its carbon-free energy. An agreement between EDF and the State is in force.
We will take stock of the implementation of this agreement, to ensure that medium and long-term contracts are offered to companies so as to allow them to predict their energy costs.
The explosion in energy costs was notably caused by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Are there still any concerns?
We are very vigilant about geopolitical events. We have a program currently under consultation to ensure our independence and sovereignty. We have organized supply systems. We are confident to get through the winter and even to export if necessary.
