The twenty communes of Pas-de-Calais sign an anti-power cut order
On the initiative of the mayor of Avion, Jean-Marc Tellier, 20 mayors of the mining basin signed this Thursday, March 31 an order prohibiting power cuts in their municipality.
The story begins before last October, the month when the mayor of Avion, Jean-Marc Tellier, had filed an anti-power cut order at the national retention office, after noting power cuts, especially among vulnerable people.
“We had people in the dark, including life support. Families with very young children. It was unacceptable”, explains Pascal Démarez, for the communication of the town hall of Avion. “Fortunately, it was quickly restored and there was no problem, but today, we see that with Linky meters, we can cut remotely. There is no longer necessarily a need for the passage of ‘a technician”.
According to him, a dozen families were in this case at the end of last year in Avion (Pas-de-Calais). Finally, the decree signed in October did not need to be applied since the winter break has arrived.
Nevertheless, “in 2021 we would have gone from 14 to 20% of the French population admitting that they no longer heat themselves” says Jean-Marc Tellier on the municipality website. And to continue:When a supplier cuts off a user, he must inform either the CCAS (municipal center for social action) or the social services of the department, which EDF does. Not the private suppliers who preferred to terminate their contracts rather than comply with these constraints, which we confirmed the mediator.
“There is the current energy surge, we see it in town hall with the heating and public lighting bills. So we wanted to hit harder this time by signing a decree for 20 municipalities”Resume Pascal Démarez.
The municipalities concerned are Avion, Lens, Liévin, Angres, Bouvigny-Boyeffles, Annay-sous-Lens, Montigny-en-Gohelle, Courcelles-les-Lens, Grenay, Méricourt, Harnes, Billy-Montigny, Rouvroy, Hulluch, Noyelles- sous-Lens, Fouquières-lez-Lens, Drocourt, Sains-en-Gohelle, Loison-sous-Lens and Wingles.