BORDEAUX/PARIS In France, the end of autumn has been unusually warm, and many homes have not yet turned on the heating. That’s why thoughts of possible power outages in a couple of months are not at the forefront.
However, a simple calculation tells the truth. Last winter, France’s need for electrical energy peaked at 87 gigawatts, but in the coming winter, according to estimates, production may remain at worst only around 60 gigawatts.
This is what happens if the winter is cold, the wind generators don’t spin, the clouds cover the sun, the reservoirs of the hydropower plants are still half-empty after the dry summer, and the nuclear power plants under renovation cannot be started enough.
Normally, the shortfall would be made up by buying electricity from neighboring countries, but if due to the war in Ukraine, energy production is also at its limits elsewhere, this will not help either. Then there will be power outages.
Savings campaigns (you switch to another service) influenced by the French have already reduced their electricity consumption (you switch to another service). Before ordinary consumers are cut off, power-hungry industrial plants are run down.
The French rely on the ability of the national electricity company EDF to supply electricity in any case. Walking in Bordeaux Pauline Le Du says he is not worried about the coming winter.
– Surely everyone should reduce the use of electricity, says Le Du, who runs a vegetarian restaurant, and estimates that his own energy consumption is lower than normal.
A walking companion Yan is also confident.
– I just bought a new winter coat, so if there are breaks, I’ll put it on.
Nuclear power plants still out of the game
Senator and former minister Gérard Longuet is not quite as confident.
– It is possible that there will be problems in the winter. However, it is better to be cold than to make repairs too quickly, says Longuet in an interview with .
Longuet is drawn by an MP Pierre Henriet’s with the parliamentary science and technology working group. He represents the moderate right-wing Republicans party, which sits in the opposition.
With corrections, Longuet refers to problems ie to the small cracks found in the French reactors (you go to another service), due to which the power plants have been shut down. The damage is currently being repaired.
Together with the delayed maintenance shutdowns and strikes due to the corona pandemic, these have created a situation where there is a record low amount of nuclear power capacity in use.
The faults were noticed when one of the power plants was being serviced in early 2022. Small cracks were found in the reactor’s cooling pipes. After the investigations, similar problems were found in a total of 12 reactors, and at the beginning of November possibly two more.
The defects were fixed last summer. But because the pipes are thick and long, they are made of stainless steel and they are located near the reactor, the work takes time.
The lack of continuity led to a shortage of welders
According to Senator Longuet, however, the biggest problem is that France’s nuclear power policy has been volatile over the past decades.
– Projects have been started and discontinued. They haven’t had the same continuity as before, says Longuet.
The consequence has been, among other things, that there are only a few special welders capable of working in nuclear power plants. The quantity has been enough for the planned maintenance work, but now welders would be needed at several sites at the same time.
Therefore, EDF has recruited professionals from, among others, Italy, the United States and Canada.
The company evaluates (you switch to another service), that by the beginning of January most of the repairs have been done and the nuclear power plants could produce around 45 gigawatts. That is about 70 percent of the 61 gigawatts that all the power plants could produce together.
This also requires that everything goes well and there are no surprises – announced at the beginning of November (you will switch to another service) in addition to delays.
Nuclear power policy is based on the goal of self-sufficiency
France’s ambitious nuclear power policy has a long history. A president suffering from a problematic relationship with the United States Charles de Gaulle wanted to achieve self-sufficiency in all its forms – space, industry, nuclear and atomic power.
The first French reactors, which came into use in 1962, were built with the help of the American Westinghouse.
The line held tight until the oil crisis of the early 1970s. Then the Prime Minister Pierre Messmer adjusted the goals even higher: all electricity in France was soon to be produced by nuclear power. The goal at that time was 80 reactors by 1985 and 170 by 2000.
However, this was not achieved, because after the oil crisis, there was no longer a need for a massive investment in nuclear power.
The EU did not encourage it either. France was almost punished for building nuclear power.
– We were not allowed to charge the right price for electricity, but in the name of EU equality, it had to be determined according to the cheap energy produced with oil, Senator Longuet explains.
– Now the situation is completely the same again, except that we are now not allowed to bill for electricity according to cheap nuclear power, but according to the price of more expensive electricity made with gas and other non-renewable energy sources.
The situation makes Longuet angry. When the power plants were built, there were a lot of expenses that could not be compensated. Now, when the nuclear power plant program developed in the long term would produce cheap energy, the EU and the electricity market do not allow it to be used.
Longuet also criticizes France’s recent nuclear power decisions, which led to problems with the Flamanville and Olkiluoto EPR power plants even before the current crisis.
The background is the poorly ended cooperation with Germany, which is critical of nuclear power, and the French’s own decisions regarding atomic energy.
Now a decision has been made in France to build six new EPR power plants starting in 2027. They should be in use in 2035. The initial difficulties of the power plant will soon be overcome, so doing the next ones will be easier.
The decision on additional nuclear power is interesting, because the president Emmanuel Macron announced in 2018 wants to close 14 reactors (you switch to another service) and reduce the country’s dependence on nuclear power.
Now the direction is completely different.
Discussions also include eight new reactors and several new types of small nuclear power plants. However, they are still of no use this winter.
What thoughts did the story evoke? You can discuss the topic until Saturday, November 19 at 11 p.m.
More on the topic:
“I only turn on the heating when absolutely necessary” – in France, homes are now being advised to keep cool, as the country is threatened with an energy shortage
France starts up its old nuclear power plants, Germany considers coal power – this is how replacing Russian energy became a confusing puzzle for Europe