France's focus on 'energy sovereignty' is starting to payoff

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Estimated reading time ~ 7 mins

By JKremona - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=144092641

2022 was the French nuclear industry’s annus horribilis.

Nuclear power giant, Electricité de France (EDF) faced a triple threat: maintenance to repair cracks discovered during routine inspections, sporadic strike action by militant unions, and drought which forced the curtailment of a number of reactors. Power output dropped by almost one-quarter (23%) between 2021 and 2022. At 278 TWh the country’s nuclear power generation dropped to its lowest level since 1989.

For Europe it came at the worst possible time. Power prices surged as Russian natural gas exports were curtailed, countries scrambled the globe for LNG supplies and fired up their remaining thermal coal plants, while a scorching hot summer fuelled demand for cooling.

From being a net exporter of power to its neighbours for decades, the country swung to a net importer in the autumn of 2022, placing Europe under even more strain. France’s nuclear nadir was one of the most important factors powering the EU carbon price to €100 per tonne (see Europe's nuclear fallout: What EDF's woes mean for carbon prices).

In July 2022 the French Prime Minister announced that the government would be upping its stake in EDF from 84% to 100% in a bid to secure France’s “energy sovereignty”. After starting the process to renationalise EDF in October 2022, the nuclear giant finally moved back into state hands in June 2023. EDF was formed in the aftermath of World War II as a state monopoly, but was partly privatised in 2004 following its integration into the EU single market.

Things have improved for EDF since it returned to state hands. The company posted a net profit of €10 billion in 2023, versus a €18 billion loss in 2022. The operational challenges EDF faced in 2022 were compounded by the need to buy power on the wholesale market at - admittedly partly self-inflicted - stratospheric prices. 2024 has started off well too with France’s nuclear output hitting its highest level in three years during the first quarter. EDF’s latest projection is that French nuclear output is likely to be in the range of 315-345 TWh in 2024, increasing to 335-365 TWh in 2025 and in 2026 (see France's nuclear risk premium has faded, for now).

French nuclear generation 2021-24, MW

Source: Energy Graph energygraph.info

Risk management in focus

Nevertheless, maintenance, drought, and strikes remain a threat.

Earlier this year EDF said that it still expected to be grappling with stress corrosion maintenance until the end of 2025. Of the 16 reactors most sensitive to stress corrosion, 15 had been repaired by the end of last year, and the final reactor will be repaired during its ten-year inspection, which began in February.

A shortage of welders, boiler makers, and pipe-fitters with nuclear experience has been filled by flying in personnel from other parts o the world, especially from the US and Canada. Longer-term, a recruitment and training drive is seeking to ensure there is enough labour available in France.