The French state-owned energy company EDF must meet the deadlines for the repair of nuclear power plants so that the country can avoid the need to restart a coal-fired thermal power plant in the east of the country, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Thursday
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st September, 2022) The French state-owned energy company EDF must meet the deadlines for the repair of nuclear power plants so that the country can avoid the need to restart a coal-fired thermal power plant in the east of the country, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Thursday.
On August 25, EDF postponed the launch of 4 out of 12 nuclear reactors that had been shut down for maintenance over corrosion in May. Currently, 32 out of 56 nuclear reactors in France remain shut down.
"I really hope that EDF will finalize the reactor restart program in the coming weeks and months, and this will allow us to avoid the need to restart the coal-fired thermal power plant," Borne told the France Inter radio station.
Earlier this week, the outgoing CEO of EDF, Jean-Bernard Levy, blamed the French government for the shortage of trained personnel capable of effectively managing nuclear power plants due to the course taken earlier to reduce the share of nuclear energy in the country's energy portfolio.
Although France seeks to reach a 50% reduction in nuclear energy consumption by 2035, such type of energy is still in demand, according to the prime minister.
"The fact that we decommissioned two power units (at the Fessenheim NPP) as a result of decisions taken during the presidency of Francois Hollande does not mean that we have not assured EDF of the need to continue producing nuclear energy," Borne said.
French authorities stated in July that they were looking into restarting the Saint Avold coal-fired power plant in the northeastern part of the country to produce electricity at the peaks of consumption.
Since 2021, energy prices in Europe have been growing as part of a global trend of post-COVID recovery. After the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the West, fuel prices have accelerated the growth, pushing many European governments to resort to contingency measures.
