EDF’s results are mainly due to the decline in nuclear energy production and its contribution by the State to contain the French electricity bill.
EDF suffered one of the heaviest losses in its history in the first half, at 5.3 billion euros, due to the drop in nuclear energy production, linked to corrosion problems in part of its reactors, and of its contribution by the State to contain the electricity bill of the French, he announced Thursday.
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This historically low production is the consequence in particular of the shutdown of 12 reactors out of 56 in France for corrosion problems, and 18 others for scheduled maintenance operations.
Sell cheap
Turnover, on the other hand, rose sharply (+67.2%), to 66.262 billion euros, supported by the sharp rise in electricity and gas prices in Europe. “The results for the first half reflect the difficulties encountered in terms of nuclear generation in France and, to a lesser extent, hydroelectricity, as well as the effect of the tariff shield put in place in France for 2022“, commented the CEO of EDF, Jean-Bernard Lévy, quoted in the press release.
The government has indeed forced EDF to sell more cheap electricity to its competitors to protect household bills. “These events force the group to buy electricity in a context of high market prices“, summed up the energy company, 84% owned by the French state, and whose government has planned 100% renationalization in the coming months.
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The group has also indicated that it is maintaining its “forecast of nuclear production over the year in the range of 280 to 300 TWh“, a prediction “comfortedby the validation on Wednesday by the Nuclear Safety Authority of its strategy to control the corrosion problems encountered in its nuclear fleet.
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