EDF: A Call for Restraint Following an Incident at the Power Plant

“It’s nothing serious.” Pierre-Yves Gillot, EDF’s director for the “Northern Islands,” sought to reassure the public on Sunday, April 26, shortly after EDF Archipel Guadeloupe issued a “call for moderation” on social media around midday. This call for greater energy conservation among EDF customers stems from a malfunction detected yesterday, Saturday, April 25, at the Public power plant. “There’s a water leak on one of the large engines, a G8,” the director explains to JSB. “A problem was already noted yesterday. The teams are on it; it’s a matter of a few hours.” ” EDF management has contacted the island’s hoteliers to ask them to disconnect from the grid by using their own backup power generation systems. However, as Pierre-Yves Gillot points out, moderate consumption by all EDF customers will be necessary to prevent plant operators from having to implement load shedding. This energy conservation involves, in particular, a more rational use of air conditioning. “What is known as industrial cooling accounts for about 30% of total consumption,” notes the director of EDF Iles du Nord. Lowering the air conditioning by just one degree results in a reduction of about 10% in consumption, he explains.

In addition, EDF management suggests other ways to reduce consumption: turning off devices in standby mode, limiting the use of “energy-intensive” equipment, keeping refrigerators and freezers closed, and limiting the use of telephones.