Just as cold drives electricity consumption due to the use of heating systems, excess heat induces an increase in electricity consumption with the increased use of fans, air conditioners and other cooling systems.
Each rise in the thermometer by one degree above the seasonal values ​​results in an increase in electricity consumption of 500 MW in the territory, ie the consumption of a large city.
With the heat wave beginning, the cooling systems will be highly stressed and RTE, manager of the high-voltage network, anticipates a peak in electricity consumption of 58,000 MW next Thursday (June 27) around 1 p.m., after having already peaked at over 56,700 MW on Monday at the same time.
However, this will not affect the electricity supply in the territory. AtAFP, the company indicated that it has a production capacity of more than 77,000 MW, including nearly 46,000 MW from nuclear power.
At the beginning of June, RTE already indicated that the production forecast would be much higher than peak consumption, even during heat waves. If nuclear remains the main supplier of electricity in France, the manager indicated however that "again renewable energy production records, in particular solar, are expected this summer, as well as records of coverage of consumption by these energies, well beyond the annual average of 22.7% in 2018. "
So it's a "serene electrical system management"which is expected this summer, with margins of more than 5,000 MW even in the event of a 100-year heat wave (more than 7 degrees Celsius above normal values ​​for several days)
