France needs to urgently restart its nuclear reactors shut down previously to avoid electricity shortages in winter, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Monday
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th August, 2022) France needs to urgently restart its nuclear reactors shut down previously to avoid electricity shortages in winter, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Monday.
"We understand that the fleet of our nuclear power plants is experiencing a number of difficulties," Borne said at a meeting with French entrepreneurs.
"However, an urgent restart of the stopped nuclear reactors is necessary to avoid interruptions in the electricity supply this winter," she added, stressing that this measure is required as there is no immediate alternative to gas supplies from Russia.
On August 25, French energy company EDF postponed the launch of four out of 12 nuclear reactors that had been shut down for maintenance over corrosion discovered by the French Nuclear Safety Authority in May.
Currently, 32 out of 56 French nuclear reactors remain shut down due to different reasons as Europe struggles with soaring energy prices, record drought and abnormal heat.
In late July, French government spokesman Olivier Veran said that France was in an "unprecedentedly difficult" situation in terms of energy production. The French government has already taken several tough measures to save electricity, banning illumination and using air conditioners in stores at night.
Since 2021, energy prices in Europe have been rising rapidly following a global trend. After Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine and Brussels imposed several sanctions packages against Moscow, the energy situation deteriorated considerably, prompting European countries to search alternatives to Russian energy supplies.
