Status: 16.12.2021 1:37 p.m.
Defects were found at a nuclear power plant in Civaux, France. The operator EDF stopped the operation, two reactors stand still. This has consequences for this year’s profit forecast.
The French energy company EDF had to stop operating a nuclear power plant in Civaux in western France for the time being because of defects it had discovered. EDF announced that cracks were found on the tubes of a reactor due to corrosion. During a routine inspection in August, one reactor was taken off the grid; this shutdown is now being extended.
Since similar reactors are used in another nuclear power plant of the electricity supplier in Chooz, EDF also took this off the grid as a precaution. Stopping the two power plants for the time being will result in a loss of around one terawatt hour of electricity by the end of 2021, EDF said.
Share loses significantly
As a result, France’s largest electricity supplier also had to correct a profit ratio: The group now expects an Ebitda – that is the profit without taking into account interest, taxes, depreciation and other financing costs – between 17.5 and 18 billion euros instead of more than 17.7 before Billion euros for this year. As a result, shares on the Paris Stock Exchange slipped by around 13 percent.
Experts at US bank JPMorgan said the effects would likely drag on into next year. The French energy supplier could have to spend around 2 to 3 billion euros in 2022 to compensate for the losses caused by the shutdown.
France continues to rely fully on nuclear power
The nuclear reactors are essential for the electricity supply in France: Around 70 percent of French electricity comes from nuclear power, which in France plays a key role in the decarbonization of the economy and the production of climate-neutral hydrogen.
The government recently pledged a billion euros in government support to the nuclear industry. The setback now comes at the worst possible time for the French government, which wants to enforce the expansion of nuclear power within the EU as climate-friendly.