In a letter, the heads of France’s leading energy companies issued a terrible warning about the energy crisis, urging individuals and companies to immediately limit energy consumption. For almost a year, Europe has suffered a major energy crisis from fossil fuels, which was exacerbated by the fact that Russia is gradually squeezing gas supplies flowing into the fuel block to exert political pressure. Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for its exports of fossil fuels, especially natural gas.
In an open letter published by the weekly Journal du Dimanche, the CEOs of Engie, EDF and Total wrote: “We must work collectively to reduce our consumption in order to regain room for maneuver.”
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the EU and Moscow have become more separated, with Vladimir Putin cutting off gas supplies to several nations.
Meanwhile, the EU has pledged to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds by the end of the year and has also imposed sanctions on Moscow’s coal and oil exports.
As a result of this sharp decline in energy exports from Russia, Catherine MacGregor of Engie, Jean-Bernard Levy of EDF and Patrick Pouyanne of TotalEnergies signed a letter warning of another energy crisis approaching this winter.
On Thursday, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced in the country that she wants to fill her gas storage facilities in early autumn, which are currently around 59 percent full.
Meanwhile, French media reported in March that the Macron government plans to increase its LNG storage capacity with the help of TotalEnergies after the United States said it was willing to increase deliveries to Europe.
In the letter, energy executives wrote: “Taking action as early as this summer will allow us to be better prepared early next winter, especially to preserve our gas reserves.”
They also stressed the importance of making “immediate, collective and massive” efforts to limit energy consumption.
READ MORE: Macron warned of the horror “nuclear accident” at EDF plants