France: EDF’s priority is to restart its nuclear reactors as soon as possible-Le Maire | Photo credits: EDF – MERAT PIERRE
(updated with additional clarifications and citations)
PARIS, Oct 11 (Reuters) – The priority for EDF is to restart its nuclear reactors as quickly as possible, in order to regain 50 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear production capacity connected to the network at the start of 2023, the Minister of Energy said on Tuesday. Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, during a conference organized by the manager of high voltage lines in France, RTE.
“We trust EDF employees to do their utmost to meet the target that was set (..), to ensure that the target of 50 GW at the start of January 2023 is met”, declared Bruno Le Maire during this conference presenting the commitments of large French companies within the framework of the EcoWatt system.
“It is an objective which is strategic and which is absolutely decisive in allowing us to spend the winter serenely”, added the minister.
“This is the main mission that we have assigned to the new management of EDF, to restart as quickly as possible the nuclear reactors which are currently shut down, to repair these famous corrosions under stress which affected a certain number of reactors, to find the necessary 50 GW connected to the network at the beginning of the year 2023”, explained Bruno Le Maire.
Today the nuclear production capacity of the operational reactors connected to the network amounts to 31.2 GW, that is approximately 51% of the total capacity. (Report Benjamin Mallet, written by Myriam Rivet, edited by Nicolas Delame)