The situation has not changed significantly on the energy front since last week. EDF still has more than one in three nuclear reactors closed, more precisely 19 of the 56 infrastructures that make up the French fleet. Of these 19 reactors, 8 are immobilized due to problems related to the phenomenon of stress corrosion.
The positive side of the production of electricity from nuclear origin is that the situation should not get worse a priori. Indeed, the energy company does not question its calendar and maintains its electricity production targets for the year 2023, which range from 300 to 330 TWh. However, if we look at last year’s maintenance schedule, EDF has always built up an order book, which has largely contributed to the particularly low level of electricity production recorded in 2022, at 279 TWh. Therefore, caution is still required in planning commitments for the current year.
Opposite trajectories between water and gas
While stagnation is the order of the day for the nuclear sector, trends are accentuating with regard to gas and hydraulic stocks. The former continue to drop with occupancy now standing at 28%, far from the technical maximum observed just a few months ago. Don’t panic though, as this low level is part of Engie’s strategy, which continues to drain gas reserves in order to refill them starting next month and throughout the summer in anticipation of next summer.
As for the dams, their levels continue to rise thanks to the rains that fell on part of France during the past week. 50% full 15 days ago, last week they were 52% and now they are 56%, that is, a fill rate 5 points higher than the average historically observed at this time of year.
Source: BFM TV
