A nationalization of EDF, faced with multiple difficulties, “is not excluded”said the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Thursday, June 2 on franceinfo. “It’s not settled”, she then added. During the presidential campaign, Emmanuel Macron had mentioned a renationalisation of EDF within the framework of“a broader reform”. As of April 7, the state owned almost 84% of the company.
“There are going to be massive investments in EDF, we are a responsible shareholder, we will be at its side and indeed, we must choose the shareholder structure that is the most solid so that it can achieve its objectives over the long term and with a visibility on the solidity of its financing”recalled the Minister.
EPR construction: how long? ➡️ “EDF expects fifteen years. We learn from the construction of the previous power plants”, assures the minister. Nationalize EDF? The question “is part of my mandate. It is not excluded, it is not decided. pic.twitter.com/xPfjbc9WP5
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) June 2, 2022
Among the planned investments are “a program of six EPRs”third-generation nuclear reactors, for “the equivalent of 60 billion euros in today’s money”but also “all the work to be done on renewable energies, all the work to be done on connections to increase our capacity, our resilience on our networks”.
Asked about the delays in the EPR sites at Flamanville, in the Manche department, and Hinkley Point, in England, she highlighted the fact that “the one in Finland is open and working”. “Today, in its retroplanning for the construction of nuclear power plants, EDF is counting on 15 years”she pointed out, and “we learn from the construction of previous plants”. “I remember that the plants that were built in the late 70s-early 80s were in this type of timing”she further justified, stressing that the subject “is not easy”.
If corrosion problems led to the shutdown of 12 of the 56 nuclear reactors in the French fleet, “it does not call into question at all” the “plan” of the nuclear executive, she said. In fact, these problems “are not a surprise, it is a park that was built 40 years ago for 40 years and today it is undergoing ten-year maintenance and the verification that it can be operated for ten years moreover, it is perfectly predictable”.
Are we sure that these reactors will be restarted? “We are sure today that we are doing the analysis, checking the speed of propagation of this corrosion and making sure that we are taking corrective action to reopenshe replied. It’s on the external circuits, it’s the piping, that is to say, these are parts that can be replaced.”
Nuclear ➡️ “The plan is not questioned at all”, even after the shutdown of the plants due to corrosion. This “demonstrates the effectiveness of the nuclear safety authority,” said Agnès Pannier-Runacher. “We would prefer to have them but we have other sources of energy.” pic.twitter.com/jMu9PX219q
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) June 2, 2022