Black series for EDF. The French group announces the shutdown of three additional nuclear reactors, the time to carry out checks on possible corrosion problems on a safety circuit.
It all started with the detection, last December, of cracks in the piping of the safety injection circuit – which is used to cool the reactor core in the event of an incident – at the Civaux power plant, in Vienne.
This damage is caused by a still unexplained phenomenon of corrosion. What arouse some concern both at EDF and with the Nuclear Safety Authority. Its director thus described the problem as a “serious event”, especially since it affects reactors of a different type or power.
“It is a serious event because the circuits which are affected are those which serve to cancel the possible consequences of an accident”
Nicholas Goldbergat franceinfo
“It is not what is used to operate the reactor, but is used to drown it if the reactor melts. It is an essential safety tool, deciphers Nicolas Goldberg, energy expert at Colombus Consulting. It’s really serious because if we find this on a large part of the nuclear fleet, we could stop it. It would then be necessary to arbitrate between nuclear safety and security of supply.“
EDF is thus obliged to chain the preventive shutdowns, the time to make the necessary checks… without knowing yet whether it will not be necessary to shut down other reactors, these next weeks or these next month. A new blow for electricity production since five other reactors are already shut down at the moment. 20% of the nuclear fleet is therefore shut down: eleven reactors will be closed this year, out of the 56 in France.
EDF must lower its electricity production forecasts, when it was already below a normal year. However, no disaster scenario of a “black out” in the event of a big cold snap in France, reassures RTE. There is no aggravation of the risk of short-term outages, unless the weather is particularly unfavorable between now and the end of the month. The manager of the electricity network in France had however maintained in its forecasts at the beginning of the week a “vigilance” until the end of winter, due to the shutdown, already unprecedented, of five nuclear reactors at the same time. .
While it is still obviously too early to measure the impact of the forthcoming closures of these three new reactors located in Chinon, Catennom and Bugey – the closures of which will be staggered between February 19 and April 9 – electricity production will mechanically drop. EDF now anticipates a capacity of between 295 and 315 terawatt hours… instead of 300 to 330 until then. Knowing that we are between 330 and 360 in a usual year.
Nuclear production has never been so low in recent years. We must therefore go back to 1991 to find an equivalent level of production… and with six nuclear power plants less than in 2022.
Consequence, already observed by RTE: a record import of electricity from neighboring countries, recorded during the winter. The government also granted authorization at the beginning of February to the last French coal-fired power stations to produce more… and therefore to emit exceptionally more CO2 than the standards in force, for the months of January and February. In the longer term, the concern can now focus on next winter, depending of course on the results of the checks carried out by EDF on these reactors… and their duration of unavailability, which is still difficult to assess.
Finally, politically, it falls all the more badly in terms of calendar: Emmanuel Macron must announce Thursday, February 10 in Belfort a plan for the construction of several nuclear reactors.