EDF's costs are higher due to oversupply of electricity

EDF, the French nuclear operator, said that it would have to increase its maintenance costs by around 1.5 million euros to 3.75 millions euros per year because it has to reduce power in 'its nuclear reactors' to a'respond to an increased electricity supply and a slow demand.

Around 70% of French power comes from nuclear energy, which accounts for about half of the state-owned EDF revenue. However, the recent addition of solar power has changed the way nuclear reactors are operated.

EDF stated that the increase in renewable energy led to a "fundamental" change in the way it modulates its production. It now reduces output in the middle of the day, when there is lots of sunlight, as opposed to before, when it would do so during low demand periods, such as the evening or the weekend.

EDF reported that the amount of renewable energy added to France's grid in 2024 would double compared to 2019. This is because the demand for energy was slowing down and the French grid had more capacity.

In a conference call with journalists, Jean-Marie Boursier, Deputy Director at EDF's Nuclear Production Division said that the?main impact? is that greater flexibility will result in increased maintenance costs. This is because certain?equipment? will be used more often.

EDF said that modulation is a purely economical issue, and it has no impact on the safety or the nuclear fleet. The solution, they added, was to increase the electricity consumption in order to keep up with current production levels. France released its new multi-annual planning law for energy last week. It called for an increase in renewable production, and the use public money to stimulate French growth.

(source: Reuters)