France’s state-backed nuclear operator is scrambling to get as many nuclear plants as possible back online before winter sets in.
Repairs and maintenance on almost half of Electricite de France SA’s (EDF) 56 aging atomic reactors are ongoing after the worrisome discovery of cracks and corrosion in some pipes used to cool reactor cores.
There have been delays in the maintenance work, due primarily to strikes for higher wages at nuclear plants across the country, and nuclear power generation has been sliding all year due to technical issues.
Hundreds of expert welders have been recruited to repair problems found in cooling circuits. Stress tests are being conducted to check for safety problems, but it still looks as if France might go from a traditional power exporter to an importer this year.
EDF is the world’s largest owner of nuclear plants. It reported Friday that its fleet of nuclear reactors is expected to produce between 275 and 285 terawatt-hours of energy this year, down from the range of 280 and 300 terawatt-hours.
But looking at the bigger picture, the crisis has raised the question of how much France will be able to help out its European neighbors bridge the continent’s looming energy crunch.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tactic of withholding energy to punish countries supporting Ukraine is pushing Europe to transform how it generates and saves power.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government has been pressing EDF to improve performance before freezing weather sets in, according to the New York Times.
“We were faced with an unprecedented situation and have gotten past the worst,” Regis Clement, EDF’s deputy general manager of nuclear production, said at a briefing. “We are doing our best to play a role in the energy crisis,” he added.
France pivoted to nuclear power in the 1980s and, after the United States, boasts the world’s biggest atomic fleet, generating 70 percent of its electricity and exporting power to other countries. That has made France historically less dependent on Russian gas than neighboring Germany.
EDF is already nearly 45 billion euros in debt and has announced that its 2022 profit would drop by 29 billion euros because of the ongoing problems with its reactors.
The problems have become so acute that Macron is preparing to have the government take over the remaining 16 percent of EDF that it doesn’t already own, at a cost of nearly 10 billion euros ($10.3 billion).
To save power, the French government is pressing ahead with France’s biggest energy conservation measures in decades, part of a broader effort in Europe. The plan calls on citizens and businesses to make major lifestyle changes, including lowering thermostats, car-pooling, and cutting lighting after hours.
