Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transition, was the guest of the 8:30 a.m. france infoWednesday March 1, 2023. Nuclear, low-emission zones, risk of power cuts… She answers questions from Marc Fauvelle and Salhia Brakhlia.
Financing of new nuclear reactors: “No need for a new tax”
To finance the six new EPR reactors ordered by the government from EDF, “We don’t need a new tax”asserts Agnes Pannier-Runacher. “We need ‘long-term’ funding that can come from the state”, she explains. Another option, “it was mentioned at one time that the Caisse des dépôts could support this construction in financing, it is a possibility”.
“What is certain is that we will fix the financing parameters by the end of the year”, specifies the Minister of Energy Transition. In any case, she takes great care to specify that “it’s not an expense”, because “we invest in something that should bring us money”. The CEO of EDF, Luc Rémont, confirmed Tuesday during a hearing before the Assembly that the investment to build six new EPRs is of an order of magnitude of 51 billion euros.
Low emission zones: local authorities must “work”
Agnès Pannier-Runacher calls on the “local authorities” to work “with the government to find the best solutions” in response to the problems posed by the establishment of Low Emission Zones (ZFE), pointed out by various political leaders. Among them, the national secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF), Fabien Roussel, who called on Monday February 27 on franceinfo to “go back” on this topic.
“I remind you that this government has enabled more than a million French people to change vehicles and that we continue to support access to electric vehicles”, underlines the minister. Moreover, “local authorities also have the opportunity to supplement this aid”.
Resale by EDF of electricity to alternative suppliers: “We must adjust the price”
“We must adjust the price to be in line with the reality of EDF’s production costs”, recognizes Agnès Pannier-Runacher about Regulated Access to Historic Nuclear Electricity (ARENH). This mechanism allows alternative suppliers to buy volumes of electricity from nuclear power at advantageous prices from the public energy company. Issue, “the price which has been set at 42 euros [du mégawattheure] in 2010” no longer corresponds to the production cost of the same megawatt hour, which is a strain on EDF’s finances. Result, in 2022: a loss of 8.34 billion euros.
“We have an essential stake in ensuring that the French, who have always benefited from an extraordinarily competitive electricity price in Europe, can continue to benefit from it”, she adds. At the same time, “we are [l’État] the almost sole shareholder now, since we aim to be 100% in the capital of EDF”. “We will be alongside EDF, and we will ensure that the model is viable for EDF”assures the minister.
The risk of power cuts behind us “if we continue to make an effort to be sober”
Is the risk of power outages behind us? “Yes, if we continue to make an effort of sobriety”replies Agnès Pannier-Runacher. “Sobriety, it allowed us to pass in particular the point which was the coldest in the winter, last December 12”, she adds. The risk of strains on the power grid for the rest of the winter has gone from “AVERAGE” To “weak”indicated the operator of the high and very high voltage network RTE, Friday, February 24.
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Find the entire “8:30 am franceinfo” of Wednesday March 1, 2023: