Electricite de France SA (EDF) may be forced to cut output at some of its French nuclear reactors during the summer as drought reduces the amount of river water available for cooling, according to Bloomberg.
Power cuts, which have already occurred a few times at one station in June, will add further pressure to Europe’s energy supply. France may thus need to import more power in the coming months because about half of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors are currently shut down for repairs or scheduled maintenance.
The utility’s struggles are partly to blame for soaring electricity prices in several European countries, exacerbating a crisis caused by shrinking Russian gas supplies. French electricity for 2023 closed at 389 euros per megawatt hour on Monday, after rising more than 28% in just ten days of trading.
“We expect some production cuts” to meet environmental rules as forecasters expect a “hot and dry summer,” Cecile Laugier, head of environment at EDF’s nuclear generation division, told reporters on Tuesday. “There is less water available this year,” especially in southeastern France, because of the drought that has prevailed since the beginning of the year.
Under French law, EDF must reduce or even stop nuclear generation when river temperatures reach certain limits to ensure that the water used to cool the stations does not harm the environment. Some exemptions are available in the event of extreme heat, which have only been used once before, Laugier said.
Given their location and cooling systems, the Golfech, Blayais, Bugey, Tricastin and Saint-Alban nuclear power plants are the most susceptible to being affected by environmental limits, Laugier noted. The last of these facilities was already forced to reduce power a few times in June. The Chooz nuclear power plant near the Belgian border must also shut down when the flow of the Meuse River falls below a certain limit, she said.
“We know the summer still has a long way to go,” with river levels likely to be low until the end of September, Laugier said.
Source: Capital
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