PARIS (AP) \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for a sharp 10% reduction in the country\u2019s energy use in coming weeks and months to avoid the risk of rationing and cuts this winter, amid tensions with supplier Russia over\u00a0the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron warned Monday that forced energy savings might have to be considered in coming months if voluntary efforts aren\u2019t sufficient. He said energy rationing plans are being prepared \u201cin case\u201d they\u2019re needed, and that \u201ccuts will happen as a last resort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe best energy is that which we don\u2019t consume,\u201d the French leader said at a news conference, where he urged French businesses and households to save energy, including by turning down heating and air conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France is among many European countries tightening their belts as energy costs soar. Russia\u2019s main pipeline carrying natural gas to Germany remains shut down, and the European Commission president says\u00a0the EU\u2019s electricity market \u201cis no longer operating\u201d\u00a0amid knock-on effects of the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron did not explain how the 10% energy-saving goal would be policed or measured. Many French homes are already reining in gas and electricity use because of rising prices, but not everyone will heed Macron\u2019s call. France\u2019s prime minister last week raised the specter of\u00a0two-hour household blackouts\u00a0in the winter if solutions aren\u2019t found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking after a videoconference Monday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Macron announced a plan to boost gas supplies to Germany from France to make up for a drop in Russian gas supplies from the east. In exchange, Macron said Germany will continue supplying electricity to France to compensate for shortages caused by maintenance underway on many French nuclear reactors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leaders spoke before an emergency European Union energy ministers meeting Friday about how the continent can coordinate to keep warm this winter if Russia cuts off gas supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron said France and Germany support the idea of requiring energy companies that are making big profits on recent spikes in gas and oil prices to make a \u201ccontribution\u201d to public coffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French activists and opposition politicians have been calling in recent days for a tax on oil and gas companies making \u201csuper-profits\u201d amid Europe\u2019s energy crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron avoided using the word tax, instead saying he and Scholz support \u201ca mechanism of European contribution sought from energy companies whose production costs are much lower than the market sale price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron also spoke in favor of a price cap on Russian gas, which EU leaders are also pushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The French leader reiterated his opposition, however, to boosting pipeline capacity from neighboring Spain to supply gas and eventually other energy sources to the rest of Europe. Macron argued that two existing gas pipelines between Spain and France are only used at 53% capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand why we are jumping like Pyreneen goats on this subject to say this would solve the problem. It\u2019s false,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need more electrical interconnection. I\u2019m not convinced we need more gas interconnections, whose consequences, particularly on the environment and ecosystems, are greater,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iberia has several liquefied natural gas plants but\u00a0little way of getting the gas to the rest of Europe, unless a new, much bigger pipeline is built. Meanwhile the EU is seeking to move away from gas altogether over the long term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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