Paris hit by several power outages due to heat
Heat and electricity don't always mix well. Several power outages affected the Parisian electricity grid on Saturday, July 5, as a result of the heatwave in the capital.
The electricity distribution network manager Enedis "confirms that several incidents occurred" on Saturday on the Paris electricity network "due to the exceptional heat wave that has affected the country in recent days," the EDF subsidiary said in a brief evening press release.
"The incidents only concern a few very localized and limited areas of the capital," added Enedis. "Some of the annexes of the National Assembly were affected," according to the network manager.
At around 4 p.m., "the power went out in part of the Galeries Lafayette near Boulevard Haussmann," according to a photo from a witness consulted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), as well as on Rue Poussin in the 16th arrondissement at 9:30 p.m.
More than a hundred different cuts during the day on SaturdayEnedis assures that "all affected customers were able to recover power via an emergency control plan."
"Due to the high temperatures and the significant temperature variations, there are "breakdowns" on the boxes and accessories that connect the cables together, and cause the cables to break, causing power outages," explained Arnaud Baret, CGT Enedis Paris union representative. "But at the same time, three of the four Parisian intervention agencies are on strike over issues of challenging housing compensation for on-call agents, which is not helping to quickly restore the lines," he added. They have been on strike since June 12.
According to the same source, Paris experienced more than 100 separate power outages on Saturday alone. At 11 p.m., the Enedis website listed around 60 incidents still being resolved, particularly on Rue de Grenelle, where several ministries are located, and at Place du Palais-Bourbon.
"In addition to the heat effect, some of the outages on the Paris network are also due to the modernization work underway in several locations," added a management source, while admitting that "a social movement by Enedis agents is disrupting the interventions of the electricity distribution network manager." "Our teams remain mobilized on the ground all weekend in order to restore the power supply to these sites via the distribution network as quickly as possible," added the same source.
According to Mr. Baret, the conflict concerns management's plan to challenge the organization of the on-call system and its financial compensation for staff housing. This system, specific to Paris, provides housing to on-call employees in their area of operation with a capped rent, allowing them to intervene twenty-four hours a day in the event of a localized outage, as their public service mission requires them to intervene as quickly as possible for residents without electricity.
The World with AFP
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