PARIS (Reuters) – France should remain an overall exporter of electricity over the coming years, thanks in particular to its fleet of nuclear power plants, RTE estimated on Thursday.
The operator of French high-voltage lines also indicated that the country’s net exports should remain in the range of 50 terawatt-hours (TWh) in the coming years, such as in 2023.
France was a net importer of electricity in 2022 – for the first time since 1980 – with a net balance of 16.5 TWh in imports, due to the production difficulties of EDF’s nuclear fleet linked in particular to corrosion problems new products that the group managed better in 2023.
“France should remain an exporter overall,” Olivier Houvenagel, director of electricity system economics at RTE, told the press during a presentation on interconnections.
“The export balance, from one year to the next, varies a lot depending on both weather conditions – for example if it is very cold, France consumes a little more electricity than other years, so it can export a little less electricity – and also the availability of nuclear power,” he stressed.
Asked about the possibility that France would display a level of net export higher than that of 50 TWh recorded last year, Olivier Houvenagel indicated that, according to RTE studies, the country would remain “structurally (…) in these orders of magnitude.
France recorded its historic electricity export record on January 3, with some 20.3 gigawatts (GW) exported. The import record – of 15.8 GW – dates from November 19, 2022.
The country, argues RTE, is an electrical “crossroads” with 37 interconnections in service, operated with six neighboring states, as well as five projects under development or construction.
(Report by Benjamin Mallet, written by Blandine Henault, edited by Sophie Louet)
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