EdF (Electricite de France)

Owners

For 2020 power engineering specialists France Russia , a large state energy company is located in the center of nuclear (as well as). 85% of the company (EDF) is owned by the state. EDF resorts to the state, as a rule, when it gets into debt and losses. Then financial holes are patched using budget funds. French nuclear power has repeatedly been accused of significant cost overruns and failing to meet the overall costs of operation, including waste disposal and dismantling of nuclear facilities.

Areas of activity

Decline in electricity production

By early 2022, the long decline of Electricite de France SA is not only a political crisis for the government in Paris, but also a growing economic threat to much of Europe.

Once a source of national pride and reliable cheap electricity, the giant atomic operator has become a nightmare for investors and an increasingly precarious pillar of regional energy security. Technical problems at some of its largest reactors mean EDF will produce the fewest atomic energy in three decades, cutting France's exports to neighbouring countries.

EDF power generation. The 2022 figure is the company's forecast for January 2022.

France located in the very center of the power system of Western Europe. For decades, its nuclear reactor fleet has been the continent's largest exporter of electricity, supplying it to, Britain,, Spain, and during Italy Switzerland Belgium Germany periods of peak demand. Now France is more likely to become an importer of electricity.

Export and import of electricity in France

In February 2022, Electricite de France SA said its energy output could fall this year to levels not seen since 1990, and Morgan Stanley believes there is a "significant possibility" of a production cut in 2023.

As of July 2022, Electricite de France SA operates only 26 of its 57 reactors, with more than half of the reactors under emergency repair.

Decommissioning of nuclear facilities

For 2021, EDF actively offers for export services in the field of decommissioning nuclear facilities and handling SNF and RW. EDF and Veolia created Graphitech JV to decommission graphite reactors. Graphitech is seeking contracts to participate in the dismantling of such reactors in France, other EU countries and Japan.

History

2024: Failure of €13bn nuclear reactor project

On September 5, 2024, the French state-owned electric power company EDF announced that its specialists were conducting technical checks after the new EPR nuclear reactor at the Flamanville nuclear power plant automatically stopped just a day after the first launch attempt. Initial diagnostic data indicates that the incident "may be related to an incorrect installation configuration." Read more here

2023

Agreement with Mozambique to build a hydroelectric power station on Zambezi to support France's gas projects

On December 13, 2023, the Mozambican government signed an agreement with the French energy company EDF to build a new hydroelectric power station. Another company from France, TotalEnergies, also received a stake in the project.

The dam and hydroelectric plant will be built along the Zambezi River in northern Mozambique and will generate 1,500 MW of electricity in the first phase. The first turbine of the hydroelectric power station should start working by 2031, wrote "Rybar."

The construction of a new hydroelectric power station is aimed primarily at supporting new-old projects for the production and import of liquefied gas, which the EU needs after the outbreak of a conflict with Russia.

In the wake of interest in the gas-rich province of Kabu Delgadu, energy companies are striving to stake out as many assets as possible in order to diversify energy sources, as well as to cut off the opportunity for non-European competitors to "snatch a piece of gas pie."

Two unplanned shutdowns at nuclear power plants

Electricity prices in France for November 2023 rose after Electricite de France SA reported two unplanned shutdowns at nuclear plants on October 29 - at the Blayais 4 nuclear power plant, located near Bordeaux, and at the Dampierre 4 nuclear power plant, located south of Paris.

These shutdowns are a problem for France's largest electricity supplier, as demand for it increases during the winter, when electricity supplies a significant portion of the country's heating needs. In the coming months, it is France likely to import electricity from countries, including where Britain electricity prices are cheaper.

2022

Purchase of 153 tons of enriched uranium in Russia

The French energy corporation EDF purchased 153 tons of enriched uranium from Russian contractors in 2022. In total, since the beginning of the year, EDF has acquired 7 thousand tons of uranium ore for its nuclear power plants, writes Le Point magazine. We are talking about ore mined not only in Russia - directly mining for France is also carried out in Kazakhstan, Canada, Niger and Uzbekistan.

Hiring more than 100 welders from Westinghouse to repair reactors due to lack of in-house specialists

In October 2022, it became known that the French energy corporation EDF (Electricite de France) urgently hires welding specialists from the United States to speed up the repair of idle reactors of nuclear power plants. This was reported by the Be-ef-em TV channel.

We are talking about employees of the American company Westinghouse ("Westinhouse"), more than a hundred people arrive in France, where before starting work they must take additional courses organized by EDF. It is expected that specialists will begin work in the coming days, the first facilities will be the reactors of the Sivo and Sho NPP. American welders will replace the French, in particular from Endel (Endel), involved in the repair of the Trikasten, Buge, Katten and Chinon nuclear power plants.

According to the TV channel, this decision is dictated by the need to complete repair and preventive work at French nuclear power plants as soon as possible due to the difficult situation in the energy sector. The channel also admits that Westinghouse has more advanced equipment than in France.

In addition, France has a shortage of qualified personnel, since earlier, against the background of uncertainty with the development of the nuclear industry, EDF abolished the corresponding training programs. In 2021, EDF, together with nuclear technology corporation Orano and shipbuilding company Naval Group, opened a welder school in Cherbourg. However, the first students will start classes only in the coming weeks and will receive the necessary skills and certificates only in a few years.

Shutdown of several NPP power units due to record heat and river shallowing

In July 2022, Electricite de France (EDF) shut down several nuclear power units due to record heat and river shallows.

Company Nationalization Plan

In July 2022, the French government offered to pay about 9.7 billion euros ($9.9 billion) for the complete nationalization of Electricite de France SA.

The state will offer 12 euros per share to acquire a 16% stake in EDF, which it does not yet own, the French Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. It is a premium of 53% to EDF's share price at the close of trading on July 5 - €7.84, the day before French Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne announced the nationalisation.

French President Macron forces company to sell electricity at loss to win election

Electricite de France SA shares fell by a record amount on January 14, 2022, as the French government confirmed plans to force it to sell more electricity at a steep discount to protect households from soaring wholesale electricity prices.

The move could cost the state-controlled company 7.7 billion euros ($8.8 billion) at Thursday's market prices. EDF shares fell 25% to 7.76 euros and were trading 21% lower at 8.14 euros at 9:58 a.m. in Paris.

The unprecedented move, announced by Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper published on January 13, 2022, is President Emmanuel Macron's latest decision to combat inflation and win voter support ahead of April's presidential election amid Europe's energy crisis.