France could face a second winter of tight power supply as nuclear reactors undergo a review of hundreds of components and increased scrutiny demanded by the country’s watchdog. France, a net power exporter in Europe, which relies on its 58 nuclear reactors for 75 percent of its electricity needs, had to import heavily from neighbors last winter after nuclear regulator ASN ordered safety checks on a dozen reactors operated by utility EDF. Last month, ASN ordered EDF to examine all its reactor components made by a unit of Areva by the end of 2018 as part of an investigation into irregularities and falsification of manufacturing documents. EDF, which operates nuclear-dependent France’s fleet of 58 reactors, promises the current review will not lead to unplanned outages. On Thursday it stuck to its 2017 nuclear production target and said there should be no impact on output next year either. But European forward electricity prices have rallied in recent weeks to multi-years highs, partly on sharp gains in fuels and carbon permit prices, France could face a second winter of tight power supply as nuclear reactors undergo a review of hundreds of components and increased scrutiny demanded by the country’s watchdog. France, a net power exporter in Europe, which relies on its 58 nuclear reactors for 75 percent of its electricity needs, had to import heavily from neighbors last winter after nuclear regulator ASN ordered safety checks on a dozen reactors operated by utility EDF. Last month, ASN ordered EDF to examine all its reactor components made by a unit of Areva by the end of 2018 as part of an investigation into irregularities and falsification of manufacturing documents. EDF, which operates nuclear-dependent France’s fleet of 58 reactors, promises the current review will not lead to unplanned outages. On Thursday it stuck to its 2017 nuclear production target and said there should be no impact on output next year either. But European forward electricity prices have rallied in recent weeks to multi-years highs, partly on sharp gains in fuels and carbon permit prices, but also due to uncertainty over French nuclear supply.
Reuters 15th Sept 2017 read more »
