France’s parliament could block Macron’s plan to nationalise EDF
French parliament could block EDF reform – analyst. French government
plans to reform utility EDF face being blocked in parliament due to
bolstered opposition from far right and left-wing parties, an analyst said
this week. “You’re going to have a lot of potential blockages with the EDF
reform,” said Phuc-Vinh Nguyen of the Jacques Delors Institute think tank.
“It is one of the major issues of the five-year term, which will have a
major impact on the revival of nuclear power, renewables and energy policy.
Without an agreement, your hands are tied.” French president Emmanuel
Macron’s ruling Renaissance party lost its absolute majority in the lower
house in parliamentary elections in June. This was due to major gains by
the Eurosceptic far right party, RN, now the leading opposition group in
the National Assembly and the left-wing Nupes party, which opposes
Macron’s plan to build new nuclear reactors.
Montel News 8th July 2022
https://www.montelnews.com/news/1334284/french-parliament-could-block-edf-reform–analyst
France’s government working out how to take full control of indebted nuclear company EDF
Banks line up for French state buyout of EDF. The French government is
working with Goldman Sachs and Société Générale as it explores taking
full control of utility EDF, with a tender offer to minority shareholders
the preferred option, according to people familiar with the matter. The
government announced this week it would take back the 16 per cent of EDF it
does not already own, saying the move would bolster the energy group’s
finances as it prepares for more investment in expensive nuclear reactors
and allow France to gain even greater control on its electricity production
as Europe is rocked by an energy crisis. The government has yet to detail
how it will take full ownership of the indebted company. A public offer to
EDF shareholders, rather than trying to push a nationalization bill through
parliament, appears to be the quickest and most feasible plan, according to
three people familiar with the matter.
FT 8th July 2022
https://www.ft.com/content/96336649-eff5-44af-850b-8996d4bde19c
EDF’s nuclear security shortfalls
EDF under scrutiny for nuclear security ‘shortfalls’. Hinkley Point C
developer placed under enhanced monitoring over threat of digital attacks.
Nuclear regulators have stepped up their monitoring of French power giant
EDF amid concerns about cyber security. The UK’s Office for Nuclear
Regulation (ONR) has put the company under “enhanced attention” after
finding “shortfalls” in its cyber security plans, The Telegraph can
reveal.
French state-owned EDF owns and runs the UK’s nuclear power
fleet. It is also building the UK’s first new nuclear power station in a
generation, Hinkley Point C in Somerset, with its minority Chinese partner
CGN.
Cyber security is of heightened concern nationally amid Russia’s war
on Ukraine. Russia has been blamed for cyber attacks which disrupted
windfarms in Europe on the eve of its invasion and security officials have
called on British organisations to bolster their defences.
In a blog post
last week, Dr Marsha Quallo-Wright, deputy director for Private Sector
Critical National Infrastructure at the National Cyber Security Centre,
said “now is not the time for complacency” despite no significant cyber
attacks on UK organisations since Russia’s invasion.
The ONR has stepped
up monitoring of EDF following a string of routine inspections over the
past 12 months, during which it said it “identified shortfalls in
governance, risk and compliance and certain technical controls”. EDF said
the shortfalls related to cyber security. A spokesman added: “EDF works
in very close partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre and some
joint studies with them identified some areas for improvement, such as in
risk awareness. “We are constantly striving to improve security and work
with various bodies, including the ONR, to achieve this. The cyber threat
is a constantly evolving area and we want to stay ahead of the threat.”
Telegraph 9th July 2022
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/07/09/edf-scrutiny-nuclear-security-shortfalls/
Nationalising EDF is no cure-all for France’s nuclear industry troubles

The French state has said it will fully nationalise EDF, the debt-laden utility that runs the nation’s nuclear power plants and which the government has so far struggled to restructure. It has not said whether it
will buy out minority shareholders on the market or take control by law.
But however it is nationalised, it doesn’t guarantee a fix for EDF’s mountain of debt or its corroding reactors and it won’t reduce the cost of shielding consumers from sky-high energy prices.
Analysts say the government’s main goal may be to secure a freehand in running a business that has a roughly 80% share of the French electricity market, once it is delisted and the state no longer has to answer to any other shareholders.
About half of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors in France are now offline, in part due to corrosion issues. EDF has repeatedly cut its planned nuclear output for 2022, just as Europe scrambles to find alternative energy sources as Russian gas supplies dwindle.
As well as problems with old reactors, it is also running years late and billions of euros above budget in building a new-generation of reactors in France and Britain, raising questions about whether it has to fix fundamental design faults. Furthermore, EDF has been hobbled by a regulated tariff system, known as Arenh, forcing it to sell 100 terawatt/hours (TWh) of nuclear generation to power retailers and large
consumers at 42 euros/MWh, which is well below market levels.
Reuters 7th Aug 2022
France to Nationalize Debt-Laden EDF as Energy Crisis Mounts
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-06/french-premier-says-state-wants-to-own-100-of-edf By Francois De Beaupuy, Ania Nussbaum, and William Horobin July 7, 2022
- Premier says EDF full control needed for energy sovereignty
- France to invest in new nuclear plants to fight climate change

The French government will nationalize its financially struggling nuclear giant Electricite de France SA to help it ride out Europe’s worst energy crisis in a generation and invest in new atomic plants.
“The climate emergency requires strong, radical decisions,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said during a policy speech in parliament in Paris on Wednesday. “We need to have full control of the production and our energy future. We must ensure our sovereignty faced with the consequences of the war and the colossal challenges ahead.”
Borne didn’t provide specific details of the government’s plans, beyond saying the state will raise its stake in EDF to 100% from 84% currently. No decision has been made at this stage on the modalities of the operation, a spokesman for the finance ministry said.
EDF shares jumped on Borne’s announcement and closed 15% higher in Paris after having been down sharply prior to her comments. The utility’s debt also gained
…………………………. EDF has been grappling in recent years with various issues at its aging fleet of reactors and cost overruns when building new ones. Its problems are being exacerbated by a government-imposed cap on electricity prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is making it more expensive for the company to cover its own electricity-output shortfall.
A positive exit catalyst for minority shareholders in EDF, Europe’s largest nuclear power producer, comes with confirmation that France will acquire the 16% stake not already owned and nationalize the company.
……………….. The CGT and FO labor unions welcomed the plan for nationalization, but also expressed concern that the government could subsequently revive a plan to “dismantle” the utility.
………………. A nationalization of EDF may reassure creditors that are concerned about the utility’s net financial debt, which stood at 43 billion euros at the end of last year and is set to climb even higher despite a 3.2-billion euro capital increase in April.
Credit-rating firms, which downgraded the utility in February, warned of further potential cuts as the company is grappling with repairs at some of its atomic power stations and cost overruns at nuclear plants under construction in France and the UK.
Drought and hot weather this summer are adding to France’s nuclear power generation problems at the worst possible moment.
Drought and hot weather this summer are adding to France’s nuclear power
generation problems at the worst possible moment. As Europe grapples with
low Russian gas supply and the threat of no Russian supply at all,
non-Russian energy sources are more important than ever.
French power giant
Electricite de France (EDF) warned on Tuesday that it may have to reduce
nuclear power generation as the water levels of rivers are low and water
temperatures high. France has been experiencing outages at its nuclear
reactors in recent months, slashing power generation from nuclear power
plants. France’s nuclear power generation accounts for around 70 percent
of its electricity mix and when its reactors are fully operational it is a
net exporter of electricity to other European countries.
Prolonged
maintenance at several nuclear reactors this year, however, means that
France—and the rest of Europe—have less nuclear-generated power supply
now.
Oil Price 5th July 2022
France’s EDF says hot summer could hit nuclear output, shares fall

PARIS, July 5 (Reuters) – France’s EDF (EDF.PA) might be forced to cut nuclear output further because of expected prolonged hot temperatures over the summer months, an executive told a briefing on Tuesday, prompting a sharp fall in the company’s shares.
EDF’s shares ended down 7.5% on the Paris stock market, underperforming the Stoxx Europe 600 Utilities (.SX6P) index, which lost 2.03%.
“We have a peculiar year due to the drought that has started early, especially in southeastern France. But there is generally a little bit less water available this year,” Catherine Laugier, Environment Director at EDF, told a news conference.
France is already grappling with reduced electricity generation because of unexpected maintenance at its aging nuclear reactors.
EDF faces the prospect of having to reduce output because of insufficient river water, which is often used for cooling nuclear reactors before being returned to the river at a higher temperature.
Regulations are in place to limit reactor production during times of exceptional heat and low water levels to prevent the process from damaging local wildlife.
“We’ve had some production cuts between end May and early June. That was indeed pretty early (…) And there are some global evaluations suggesting (…) this might be a very long summer and the levels could be impacted in September,” Laugier said.
Since the start of the year, EDF has lost 20.6% of its value, well below a 12.9% sector-wide decline……………. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/frances-edf-says-hot-summer-could-hit-nuclear-output-shares-fall-2022-07-05/
Macron says he doesn’t want to ‘annihilate’ Russia
While the French president has backed anti-Russia sanctions, he has refrained from the extreme rhetoric of his US and UK counterparts/
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned “Anglo Saxon” leaders for openly wishing annihilation upon Russia in clips from a recent documentary. Macron has already been criticized by some of Ukraine’s most fervent supporters for staying in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While he has condemned Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and supported EU sanctions on Moscow, the French president has spoken to Putin by phone on several occasions since February. These calls have apparently not brought Ukraine any closer to peace, but have earned Macron scorn from Kiev’s supporters, including Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who castigated his French counterpart for talking to a man he compared to “Hitler.”
However, in a documentary recently broadcast on French television, Macron gave some insight into his approach to diplomacy.
Filmed on a train back from Kiev last month, Macron explained that talking to Putin is necessary to prevent the conflict in Ukraine from becoming a wider war. Describing “Anglo Saxon” leaders as pushing the message that “we must annihilate Russia, weaken it permanently,” Macron said that his goal is instead to “help Ukraine to win,” and “not to fight against Russia, let alone annihilate it.”
Whatever the practical similarities between Macron’s approach and that of his US and UK counterparts, all of whom have provided Kiev with weapons and ammunition, there exists a clear difference in rhetoric between France and the “Anglo Saxon” world.
While US President Joe Biden has accused Russia of committing “genocide” in Ukraine, Macron has cautioned the West against bandying around such loaded terms. Likewise, he has dismissed requests from Kiev that he declare Russia a “sponsor of terrorism.”
And while US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin has described the conflict in Ukraine as an opportunity to leave Russia “weakened” and Biden has let slip that he wishes for regime change in Moscow, Macron has stated that the West “must not humiliate Russia,” in order to make a peace deal possible some day.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has compared Putin to a “crocodile” and repeatedly dismissed the idea of peace talks with Moscow. Meanwhile, the newly-appointed chief of Britain’s armed forces has declared that the UK’s military must prepare for the possibility of “defeating Russia in battle.”……………. https://www.rt.com/news/558308-macron-russia-anglo-saxon/
Macron facing ‘Fukushima-style’ accident, as EDF reactor cracks force shutdown

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron is facing a nightmare situation as cracks in EDF’s reactors threaten to create accidents as devastating as Fukushima, Express.co.uk was told.

EDF is in a parlous financial state, with huge debts, and all the builds of its flagship EPR reactor have had huge cost and time over-runs – not a good look.
Antony Ashkenaz, Express, Jul 3, 2022
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1633756/macron-facing-nuclear-nightmare-edf-reactor-crack-risks-fukushima-style-horror-energy France is facing a relatively unique energy crisis when compared to other countries in Europe. The country is not heavily dependent on natural gas, Russian or otherwise, getting most of its energy supplies from nuclear power, which generates 70 percent of the country’s electricity. However, Paris has been forced to shut down many French reactors, as a recent report warned Mr Macron of significant corrosion safety problems in EDF [Electricité de France] nuclear power plants in France as cracks were detected in some nuclear reactors.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Dr Bernard Laponche, the co-author of this study warned that in many of these reactors, cracks to cooling systems could cause devastating accidents.
He said: “If the defects are detected in or near the welds, or near the junction between these and the primary cooling circuit cause a breach in the cooling system with an important loss of water, this can lead to the partial or total melting of the fuel assemblies in the reactor core.
“That means the possibility of a Three Mile Island or a Fukushima-type accident.”
As a result of these corrosion problems, four 1500 MW, seven 1300 MW and one 900 MW reactors are shut down.
Meanwhile, engineers are working on fixing segments of the cooling circuits where the cracks were identified.
Dr Laponche warned that all other reactors will likely be checked for these issues within the next year.
If further evidence of cracks are found, the corresponding part of the reactor will be removed and replaced, in a procedure that Dr Laponche estimates could take a year.
He added: “This means that a large part of the EDF nuclear fleet will be gradually shut down.
“Next winter, France will reopen coal and gas plants. But the country has very few of them and it will have to import a maximum of electricity from abroad.
“Important efforts will be necessary to reduce electricity consumption, particularly at the winter peak (due in particular to a high proportion of electrical heating).”
Last week, the heads of France’s major energy companies penned a letter, issuing a dire warning about the energy crisis, urging individuals and businesses to limit power consumption immediately.
They wrote: “We need to work collectively to reduce our consumption in order to regain room to manoeuvre.
“Taking action as soon as this summer will allow us to be better prepared at the start of next winter, notably for preserving our gas reserves.”
The news of cracks in EDF reactors in France could also spell danger for the energy company’s nuclear projects in the UK, Dr Laponche warned.
He continued: “Although all the EPRs reactors are shut (Olkiluoto and Taishan) or not yet functioning (Flamanville 3 in France), there is a high probability that the same problem does exist on these reactors, including those at Hinkley Point.
“EDF should be questioned on this point.”
EDF is currently building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset and was previously set to come online in 2026, but has since been delayed due to Covid-19.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Dr Paul Dorfman, an associate Fellow at SPRU University of Sussex, who was not involved in the study criticised EDF and the French nuclear fleet as whole saying: “The French nuclear corporation, EDF, runs the UK nuclear reactor fleet, is building at Hinkley Point C and wants to build at Sizewell C.
“But EDF is in a parlous financial state, with huge debts, and all the builds of its flagship EPR reactor have had huge cost and time over-runs – not a good look.
!As Lord Deben, Chair of UK Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change has just said: ‘The nuclear industry doesn’t deliver on time and doesn’t deliver to budget…. So there’s a real concern about how qualified (EDF) are to do these things.’
Express.co.uk has reached out to EDF for comments on the findings of the report.
In France, drought, and multiple problems in nuclear power plants add energy crisis to the climate crisis.
In the midst of the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis is taking precedence
over the environmental crisis. On Thursday, the government called on the
French to reduce their consumption by 10% in 2 years. On Sunday, EDF, Total
and Engie even deemed it necessary to make efforts “immediately”. Their
fear: a real risk of cuts this winter. when the drought and the multiplication of problems in nuclear power plants add crisis to crisis.
Indeed, it is not only Russian oil and gas that will be missing from the
European energy mix in the future. Declining flow in rivers is a problem
for hydropower plants.
And even worse, the state of the French nuclear
fleet raises many concerns. Called to satisfy 40% of electricity
consumption in France, it has suffered from the health crisis to the point
that production fell by 8.7% in 2020 compared to 2019, falling to a level
that had not been observed since the late 1990s.
All this has delayed maintenance operations. And now we suddenly discover corrosion where we did
not expect it on 12 reactors, which were automatically shut down. It is
therefore half of the 56 French reactors which are out of service for a
certain time. A hard blow impossible to compensate for immediately with the
major projects intended in the long term to increase the share of renewable
energies in our energy mix.
La Depeche 27th June 2022
France to build nuclear reactors in Poland, and is supplying finance
French power utility EDF has signed cooperation agreements with five Polish
firms as part of its efforts to become a strategic partner in the
development of Poland’s first nuclear plants. It has also revealed that the
French government is supporting its involvement, including in securing
financing.
Last year, EDF submitted a preliminary offer to construct four
to six EPR nuclear reactors in Poland at two or three sites, representing a
total installed capacity of 6.6 to 9.9 GW. The French company estimated the
cost of building four reactors at around €33 billion and six at €48.5
billion.
Notes from Poland 29th June 2022
Macron warned of horror ‘nuclear accident’ as CRACKS appear in EDF’s reactors
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FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron has been sent a horrifying warning as cracks have been detected in some of EDFs nuclear reactors in France.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1625813/edf-cracks-nuclear-reactor-accident-power-plant-France-energy-emmanuel-macron— By ANTONY ASHKENAZ, Wed, Jun 15, 2022 ,
A new report has warned Mr Macron of significant corrosion safety problems in EDF nuclear power plants in France as cracks detected in some nuclear reactors could risk causing “nuclear accidents”. The cracks were first detected in an emergency cooling circuit of reactor no. 1 of the Civaux power plant in October. The report also warned that the upcoming Hinkley Point reactor in the UK could face a similar situation Similar cracks have been discovered in three other 1500 MW reactors and of the Penly 1 reactor (1300 MW) , prompting them to be shut down as well.
The report notes that several reactors have faced “stress corrosion” which is often characterised by “cracking of a material… the stresses are linked to manufacturing operations and in particular to welding operations”.
Dr Bernard Laponche, the co-author of this study warned that the risk from stress corrosion is serious writing: “If the defects detected on the welds evolve, they can cause a breach in the main reactor cooling system.
While France has a large fleet of nuclear reactors generating about 70 percent of its energy, many of these reactors are ageing, with French regulators pushing the scheduled shutdown of over half of EDF’s reactors by over a decade.
The report added that there are a number of likely reasons why several of these reactors were cracking, which include “a degradation mechanism that simultaneously involves the material and its intrinsic characteristics, the mechanical stresses to which it is subjected and the nature of the fluid that circulates.”
According to the French nuclear regulator ASN, the “geometry” of the circuits concerned is the main cause for this defect, while EDF blames “thermal stratification”, or contact between two types of steam with different temperatures coming into contact.
The authors warned against France’s decision to extend the lifespan of these nuclear reactors from 40 years to 50 after 58 of the country’s reactors were set to shuitdown.
The authors wrote: “In any case, if the vulnerability of the 900 MW reactors were confirmed, the question of extending the operating life of these reactors beyond 40 years would have to be re-examined.
“It would also be necessary to examine the possibility that the EPR reactors at Flamanville, Olkiluoto and Taïshan, as well as those under construction at Hinkley Point, might themselves be concerned, insofar as they were designed on the basis of the 1500 MW N4 model.”
EDF is currently building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset and was previously set to come online in 2026.
Last month, EDF warned that as a result fo the pandemic, Hinkley Point C would be delayed by another year to June 2027, and will cost another £3billion to complete.
However, they assured that there would be no cost impact to the British taxpayer as a result of the delay.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK has invested heavily in nuclear energy, announcing plans to generate a quarter of the UK’s energy supply from nuclear sources by 2050.
The Government aims to launch 8 new nuclear reactors to replace 5 of the 6 existing plants that are set to be shut down by the end of the decade.
Express.co.uk has reached out to EDF for comment.
France’s nuclear output lowers, as climate change affects cooling water systems of reactors.
French Nuclear Outages Risk Making Europe’s Gas Crisis Worse, By Todd Gillespie and Rachel Morison, 17 June 2022,
The cost of electricity in France jumped, adding to Europe’s gas woes, as depressed nuclear output squeezes the market.
France’s nuclear reactors are operating at less than half their full capacity and this week have produced the least electricity at this time of year since at least 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country, where warm weather is already making it tougher to cool the fleet of reactors, is importing power from neighboring countries like the UK, which historically has taken energy from France.
Electricity generation from state-run Electricite de France SA, the continent’s largest producer of atomic energy, is struggling under lengthy maintenance of its aging fleet and risks heightening the continent’s dependence on gas, which is in short supply. The company may now need to import power from neighbors in winter, straining wider European supply and burdening consumers with higher costs………………. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-17/french-nuclear-outages-risk-making-europe-s-gas-crisis-worse
Fresh blow for EDF with probe into practices at Tricastin nuclear plant

PARIS, June 9 (Reuters) – French power utility EDF faces an investigation into alleged non-disclosure of safety incidents at its Tricastin nuclear power plant, the lawyer of a whistleblower told Reuters on Thursday, in another setback for the state-controlled company.
Last month, EDF said the nuclear outages related to an inspections and repairs program would cost it 4.5 billion euros ($4.82 billion), more than estimated earlier.
The company has been forced to launch checks across its nuclear fleet after discovering corrosion on high-pressure pipes which has prompted outages and repairs.
The whistleblower’s lawyer William Bourdon told Reuters that his client, an EDF employee, filed a complaint against the management of the site in November claiming “endangerment of people’s lives” and violations of civil law.
EDF is not the subject of a probe as yet, but prosecutors have launched an investigation “against X”, Bourdon said, confirming media reports, which allows them to investigate the actions of several parties.
EDF declined to comment, and the Marseille prosecutors leading the investigation in southern France were not immediately available to comment.
EDF, in which the French state owns more than 80%, operates 56 reactors across France and is responsible for about 70% of the country’s power supply.
Despite the news of the probe, EDF shares were up almost 5% shortly after 0830 GMT after business daily Les Echos said the government planned to nationalise the company, a prospect flagged by Emmanuel Macron during his reelection campaign.
EDF delays the scheduled maintenance shutdowns of 7 French nuclear reactors.

| EDF has pushed back scheduled shutdowns for next winter of seven French reactors and plans to delay an eighth, Remit data showed on Wednesday. These changes concern the shutdowns of the Bugey 5 (880 MW), Cattenom 2 (1,300 MW), Cruas 4 (915 MW), Golfech 2 (1,310 MW), Gravelines 1 (910 MW), Nogent 2 (1,310 MW) reactors. ) and Paluel 1 (1,330 MW). The delays vary from several weeks to about a month. The company also plans to push back for two weeks, until February 25, the scheduled shutdown of its St Alban 1 reactor (1.3 GW). EDF gave no explanation for these measures. They come amid fears of a shortage of electricity supply in France next winter, due to a record drop in nuclear generation. The public nuclear electric company was forced to unexpectedly shut down several reactors for checks and repairs following the discovery of corrosion on important safety circuits at the end of last year. Last month, EDF revised the dates of thirteen scheduled reactor outages, citing corrosion-related checks and repairs. Montel 8th June 2022, https://www.montelnews.com/fr/news/1326472/edf-retarde-les-arrts-hivernaux-de-7-racteurs-franais |
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