TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Power outage plunges parts of Paris into darkness

The incident comes amid worries that power blackouts could cripple infrastructure in France as the first cold snap of the winter tests the resilience of the power network. 

Reuters
Paris, France
Fri, December 9, 2022

Share This Article

Change Size

Power outage plunges parts of Paris into darkness A man rides a bicycle past the Trocadero Esplanade as dark rain clouds loom over The Eiffel Tower in Paris on May 9, 2020, on the 54th day of a lockdown in France aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus. (AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)

S

everal districts of southern Paris were plunged into darkness on Thursday night due to a power outage tied to a technical glitch on an electrical transformer of energy supplier Enedis. 

The incident comes amid worries that power blackouts could cripple infrastructure in France as the first cold snap of the winter tests the resilience of the power network. 

Many streets in Paris's third, fourth, fifth arrondissements were hit by the power cuts around 10:15 p.m. (2115 GMT) and power was restored around 11:00 p.m., grid operator RTE's division for the region encompassing Paris, Ile de France, said on Twitter. 

"Around 125,000 households were affected at the height of the incident," it said.

A spokeswoman for Enedis told Reuters the transformer fault caused a break in a high voltage line.

She said the fault was not tied to a load-shedding exercise Enedis and RTE will carry out on Friday to prepare for possible controlled outages amid tight supplies.

"Today we are carrying out a crisis exercise as we routinely do," the spokeswoman added.

Government ministers have warned of possible power outages in case of a gap between supply and demand, which they said would last no longer than two hours and be flagged in advance.

State-run utility EDF, a parent company of Enedis, is racing to get nuclear reactors hit by corrosion problems back on line.

{

Your Opinion Counts

Your thoughts matter - share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.