This Monday an agreement was signed, the first of its kind, between the manager of the French electricity network (RTE) and Carrefour, which will reduce its electricity consumption if necessary this winter, in the context of difficulties in the national energy supply. The distribution giant is the first company to sign this association. Some 50 communities are already participating; the Region of Brittany must, for example, sign on Tuesday. RTE expects this to be emulated.
“We hope that many companies join this initiative,” said the president of RTE, Xavier Piechaczyk, when signing this letter with Alexandre Bompard, executive director of Carrefour, in a supermarket in the 13th district. The principle is that Carrefour, alerted by RTE in case of a “red” signal, reduce or reorient your electricity consumption in your supermarkets and hypermarkets and your stores, to help relieve the tension in the network and avoid blackouts.
By reducing the intensity of the light, heating or changing the cooking of the birds… the group, which can remotely and centrally control the lighting or hot-cold controls of its warehouses, could save up to 10 megawatts (MW) of energy, or 1% of the power of a nuclear reactor.
“If it’s cold, the system will be very tense”
This operation is part of the RTE “Ecowatt” system, a green, orange or red signal, which allows everyone, including individuals, to see in real time the level of electrical energy available and adapt their consumption mode.
The CEO of Carrefour evokes “a duty to set an example, given the size of [son] network of stores, in contact with thousands of suppliers and millions of customers”. install LEDs, cleaner refrigerants or even closed freezers instead of simple containers.
According to the group’s director of sustainable development, it takes about ten years to recover the investment. On Monday, at the same time, the large distribution federation also announced emergency measures to reduce the energy consumption of the sector this winter, without including, however, any agreement or quantified objectives.
Source: BFM TV
