France Residents Told to Cut Energy Use, Warned Power Rationing Is on the Table

The people of France have been told to cut their energy use and warned that power rationing is on the table for the countryโ€™s residents.

French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for a 10% reduction in the nationโ€™s energy usage.

As the energy crisis in Europe deepens, Macron warned French households that mandatory consumption limits are on the table as a โ€œlast resort.โ€

Macron warned that energy rationing plans are being prepared for this winter โ€œin caseโ€ voluntary efforts were not enough.

The French president urged people to turn down heating and air conditioning as the โ€œbest energy is that which we donโ€™t consume.โ€

If voluntary energy reduction isnโ€™t enough, then forced power cuts โ€œwill happen as a last resort,โ€ he warned.

The news comes after Russiaย cut off natural gas shipments through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline over the weekend.

Russia initially claimed that restarting the pipeline was delayed due to technical issues.

However, Moscow has now refused to restart the pipeline until the removal of sanctions imposed in reaction to the countryโ€™s war in Ukraine.

Natural gas prices in much of Europe have increasedย more than tenfold compared to normal levels.

The soaring prices are prompting various nations to encourage lower usage among households and businesses.

โ€œThe answer is up to us,โ€ Macronย toldย reporters after a conference call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

He urged residents of France to use air conditioning and heating a โ€œbit less than usualโ€ to avoid power outagesย through the winter.

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The legislature of Spain has alreadyย mandatedย that public air conditioning be set no lower than 27 degrees Celsius, roughly 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit, through the summer months.

Last week, finance ministers of the G7 nations โ€” which include France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States โ€”ย reaffirmedย a plan to impose a price cap on Russian oil.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that the move is meant to โ€œsignificantly reduce Russiaโ€™s main source of funding for its illegal war.โ€

The Russian government has since threatened to retaliate over the price cap.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmedย to reporters that the nation may resume gas shipments via Nord Stream 1 if sanctions are eased.

โ€œProblems with gas supply arose because of the sanctions imposed on our country by Western states, including Germany and Britain,โ€ Peskov said.

โ€œWe see incessant attempts to shift responsibility and blame onto us.

โ€œWe categorically reject this and insist that the collective West โ€” in this case, the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom โ€” is to blame for the fact that the situation has reached the point where it is now.โ€

Duringย a recent interview, Klaus-Dieter Maubach, the CEO of German energy company Uniper, told CNBCย that natural gas prices could continue to soar without collective action.

โ€œWhat we see on the wholesale market is 20 times the price that we have seen two years ago,โ€ he remarked.

โ€œThat is why I think we need to have really an open discussion with everyone taking responsibility on how to fix that.โ€

Maubach, whose firm is slated to be acquired by the German government in a $15 billion rescue deal, said he regrets defending Russian state energy conglomerate Gazprom as a reliable gas provider.

โ€œThat, in hindsight, maybe it was even a mistake to think that gas would not be used. Maybe it was just wishful thinking,โ€ he commented.

โ€œI think this partnership is broken and I donโ€™t think that we can reestablish that in the next weeks, months, and years to come.

โ€œSo, we are focusing on replacing Russian gas.โ€

Indeed, Germany โ€” the largest economy in Europe โ€” imported roughly 55% of its natural gas from Russia before the invasion of Ukraine and has sinceย reduced its dependenceย to 35%.

German gas supplies, however, are currently slated to last only three months if Russia continues to pause all exports.

The European Union has formally adopted the officialย policyย of becoming โ€œa climate-neutral societyโ€ by 2050 in accordance with the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement.

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