It is a mountain that is in front of EDF. While a salary agreement has just been signed between the unions and the management after several days of strikes in certain nuclear power plants, the energy company treads water in the reactivation of the stopped reactors. Like last week, this Monday 26 are still not working, with the Chinon 1 reactor being restarted today. In question, EDF has once again delayed several restarts of sites that were affected by strikes two weeks ago, such as Cruas, Gravelines or Bugey.
Tomorrow thus begins a crucial month of November in which 15 reactors must be restarted by the end of the month. It is much more than the 9 of the titular calendar. EDF will therefore have to do chain restarts if it is to achieve its target of 40 reactors in operation by early December, a target the government has also set for the company’s new boss, Luc Rémont. This is a difficult bet because, at the same time, EDF continues its maintenance rotation. As such, new reactors are shut down for several weeks, such as at Gravelines and Dampierre.
Slight advance for water dams
One of the rare reasons for satisfaction is based on the dams whose filling level has increased very slightly, by one point, reaching 64% and being only 5 points from the historical average. Although the weather will have been particularly mild during the month of October, the rains are not enough at the moment and EDF continues to save water from its dams to save a little before winter.
On the contrary, all the reservoirs have seen their filling level increase with the exception of those in the Massif Central, which are stagnant at 57% but are very close to normal. Those in the Northern Alps have gained four points and are already 83% full, while those in the Southern Alps and the Pyrenees have increased to 54 and 55% respectively. That is, levels far from historical averages.
Finally, gas stocks have been 100% full for several weeks. However, it should be remembered that they only cover 25% of consumption, which is why Engie ensures the delivery of liquefied natural gas to our coasts. And good news: LNG loading schedules are at maximum for the Fos and Montoir de Bretagne LNG terminals.
Source: BFM TV
