Concerns over nuclear power supplies ease in France

In France, concerns that the country will once again face a shortage of nuclear power this winter have eased. Electricity prices for contracts for future delivery (known as forward contracts) continued to fall yesterday, moving closer to more stable prices in Germany. Reuters reported this. Last year, nuclear power availability in France fell to a 30-year low, as many reactors were offline due to a corrosion problem. This also compounded problems in neighbouring countries, which had to cope with reduced supplies of natural gas from Russia.

Concerns over nuclear power supplies persisted during the first months of this year. Availability subsequently improved gradually, reaching the target set by French utility EDF of 300 to 330 terawatt-hours (TWh).

As of yesterday, 11 of the 16 reactors susceptible to corrosion had been repaired. Another four are expected to be repaired by the end of the year.

The heads of French energy companies EDF and TotalEnergies have previously said that supplies will be significantly less tight this winter than last, but prices are likely to remain high.