Electricite de France (EDF) has announced a large-scale inspection. If a serious repair campaign is needed, it will affect the production capacity of the country's nuclear fleet during the current year.
This has already led to a sharp rise in energy prices, UNN reports, citing Вloomberg and AFP.
Details
Three years after a similar problem that led to an industrial crisis in France, two "signs of stress corrosion" were discovered in nuclear reactor No. 2 of the EDF Civo power plant. As part of the fight against the problem, an "expert assessment" is currently being carried out in accordance with the objectives of the 2025 monitoring strategy for "stress corrosion processing." EDF reported that the results of the inspections are still expected.
ASNR, the nuclear power plant regulator, confirmed to AFP the presence of "two signs of stress corrosion" on this reactor, but did not provide further details.
Meanwhile, the relevant reports led to an 8.4% increase in the cost of annual electricity production in France. This is the highest figure in two years, according to data from the European Energy Exchange.
The August contract, when cooling demand peaks, rose 13%. Prices also rose in Germany and the UK, which often rely on exports from neighboring France to keep the lights on.
French annual electricity prices rose 8.40% to €67.50 per megawatt-hour at 9:57 a.m. local time, the highest since February. The German equivalent contract rose 2.92% to €89.40 per megawatt-hour.
Reference
The phenomenon of stress corrosion cracking (or SCC) manifests itself as tiny cracks in metal areas.
EDF faced this problem in late 2021 when it discovered microcracks in reactor number 1 of the Civo nuclear power plant, the newest and one of the most powerful in the nuclear fleet (1450 MW per reactor) after the EPR reactor in Flamanville.
The discovery required a large-scale inspection and repair campaign of the EDF nuclear fleet. In 2022, between corrosion and scheduled maintenance, half of the 56 reactors were shut down, sometimes simultaneously, threatening the country with power outages in the middle of the winter season.
EDF ended 2022 with record losses, burdened by historically low nuclear power generation.
Recall
A nuclear reactor at the Swiss Beznau NPP was shut down in the spring due to a failure in the connection to the power grid.
Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes and has long denied Western accusations of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.