EDF’s electricity production was historically low in 2022 due to the unavailability of many nuclear reactors for maintenance or repair, and the drought that caused a drop in hydroelectric production, according to figures published Thursday.
The production of the nuclear park fell to 279 TWh, 22.7% less than in 2021 “due to a lower availability of the nuclear park, mainly due to the review and repair of the circuits affected by stress corrosion”, has indicated the company majority owned by the French state.
EDF hydro production fell in the same proportions to 32.4 TWh (-22.4% compared to 2021) in 2022, the hottest year ever recorded in France that dried up dams.
“It’s historically low,” said Nicolas Goldberg, an energy expert at Columbus Consulting. This difficult year for EDF was first linked to the unprecedented difficulties of the nuclear fleet, entangled in maintenance operations, which had been delayed during the Covid-19 period and which continued.
The situation was aggravated by corrosion detected at the end of 2021 in sections of pipes crucial to the safety of the plants, which required lengthy repairs. The availability of the French nuclear park has thus been reduced to just under 35% of the installed capacity in August, according to EDF data analyzed by AFP.
Loss of production during strikes
A social conflict over wage increases in the fall also cost the company the loss of 4 TWh of nuclear production, according to an estimate reported in early November by EDF.
“EDF lost some production volumes during the autumn strikes and due to the modulation” of nuclear production at the end of the year, due to the weather, an EDF spokesman said. Up to 10 reactors were shut down before Christmas to save fuel as mild temperatures led to lower consumption, according to the company.
The year 2023 has started again under better auspices. At the beginning of January, more than two thirds of the installed power in the French nuclear park is available again: 44 reactors are operational and only 12 were off on Thursday.
“The nuclear park is capable of providing close to 45 GW of electricity to the national grid” and “the available power will continue to increase until the end of January,” says EDF.
The company, whose debt is expected to exceed 60,000 million euros, must publish its annual financial results on February 17.
Source: BFM TV
