France’s electricity consumption down 6.7% over the week, RTE data shows

France’s electricity consumption fell 6.7% last week compared to the average for previous years (2014-2019), a “declining effect” that has been ongoing since early October, according to data released by RTE over the night of Tuesday on Wednesday. This decrease is more significant than the previous week (-5.8%).

“Over the past 4 weeks, electricity consumption in France at normal temperatures has shown a structural decrease (-6.4%) compared to previous years (2014-2019)” over the same period, indicates the network manager of the French electricity transmission.

mild weather

Once again, this weekly decline is “largely concentrated in the industrial sector in the context of rising energy prices,” he emphasizes. “The downward effect in the residential and tertiary sector exists, but it has diminished in recent weeks and is more difficult to characterize accurately” due to school and public holidays, RTE adds.

Is this the result of good habits adopted by the French? “With the exception of a few isolated days in November, temperatures remain well above normal (seasonal) for more than a month,” which reduces the need for electricity for heating, especially in private homes, RTE notes.

In the context of the energy crisis, the network operator organized a weekly monitoring of electricity consumption in mainland France. The published figures were “in line with normal temperatures for this period” and are independent of the exceptionally moderate values ​​recorded in France in October and November.

The government’s sobriety plan, presented on October 6, calls for a 10% reduction in energy consumption in France over the next two years compared to 2019 and 40% by 2050.