Electricity: the French network experienced a weakness last Monday
RTE dropped the current of twenty energy consuming industrial sites Monday 7 October in the evening. This is the second time that this anti-blackout emergency device has been activated since its creation under 2011's NOME law.
The incident was discreet and quickly circumscribed, but on Monday October 7 the French electrical system was put to the test. Due to lack of sufficient production, the Transmission System Operator (RTE) - which must ensure a permanent balance between supply and demand - had to reduce the consumption of emergency 22 industrial production sites around 21 hours .
Created under the NOME law of 2011, this so-called "interruptibility" device makes it possible to disconnect in a few seconds the factories that consume a lot of electricity, who are willing and paid to do so, in order to avoid the risk of "blackouting". ". Until now, the mechanism had only been activated once, the 10 last January, when a measurement problem on the lines connecting Germany and Austria put the European electricity grid at risk.
Unexpected stoppage of a Gravelines turbine
This time around, according to RTE: the unexpected shutdown of the production of an EDF reactor in its Gravelines plant and the drop in frequency on the network at European level. "Traditionally, we observe a low frequency at the end of peak consumption hours in the fall. This was accentuated Monday night by the incident in Gravelines. The interruptibility measure has ensured the security of the network, it is part of our technical levers to act. We were very far from the blackout, "says RTE.
At EDF, it is specified that the stop in Gravelines is not related to a problem on one of its nuclear reactors but on a turbine that was disconnected from the network and returned to service at 7 hours Tuesday morning. "The production unit has been disconnected in order to carry out a maintenance operation on the secondary circuit, located in the non-nuclear part of the installation," explains the energy specialist.
Concretely, in such a case, the disconnection of manufacturers is automatic. Sites like that of the Liberty group that produces aluminum in Dunkerque or those of chemist KEM ONE in the south of France were thus reduced power during 15 minutes Monday night. Enough to release no less than 1.400 megawatts in seconds!
New risks
"This emergency device was created after 2006's gigantic European blackout and it still proves its effectiveness when the network is threatened," said Nicolas de Warren, president of Uniden, the association that brings together electro-intensive groups.
However, it fears that power grids will be increasingly put to the test in the coming years: "With the rise of electricity interconnections in Europe and intermittent renewable energies such as wind turbines, this type of event risks to breed more frequently. "
Source: https://www.lesechos.fr/amp/1139144
