In France, 27 of 56 nuclear power plants are closed due to strikes – what that means for Switzerland Women think current abortion deadlines are good

As strikes in France’s refineries wane, the CGT union is blocking more and more of the country’s nuclear power plants. The first strikes in Europe’s largest nuclear power plant park date back to September. However, they were not recognized as such for a long time: at the same time, about half of the reactors have already been shut down due to maintenance work or malfunctions. 27 of the 56 French posts are currently standing still.

On request, the operator Electricité de France (EDF) cannot say how many of these plants have been closed due to the strike. According to union CGT, 19 reactors are at least partially affected by the staff blockades; and their numbers are increasing. The strikers stop the production of a reactor or hinder maintenance work. They want to enforce inflation-related wage demands.

schedule at risk

For the ailing, recently nationalized EDF, this means new hardships. Above all, it can no longer keep to the promised schedule for a return to normal electricity production during the winter.

After President Emmanuel Macron replaced the previous EDF head Jean-Bernard Lévy, the company promised a speedy return to normal conditions: nuclear power should actually reach 29 gigawatts again in early November and 41 gigawatts in early January – with a capacity of 61.4 gigawatts throughout France. Nothing comes of that now.

According to Thomas Veyrenc, the strategy director of the French network operator RTE, the strikes have already led to a delay of “two to three weeks”. If the strike lasts longer, the grid operator fears “serious consequences” for the power supply in the coldest winter months. France must already import electricity from Germany. In return, a French pipeline supplies natural gas to Saarland via the Rhine.

RTE emphasizes that no supply bottlenecks are expected for the time being. Temperatures are relatively mild, and the government estimates that its budget cuts have already cut electricity consumption by four percent. At the same time, the hydroelectric power stations are running. However, the strike movement is now also affecting the functioning of two mountain basins in the Alps.

Switzerland imported 20 terawatt hours from France

The industry apparently believes only to a limited extent in RTE’s commitments: after a decline in recent weeks, spot prices for electricity in France have risen again to 287 euros per megawatt hour. The gas storage facilities in France are 98 percent full, six percent above the European average.

However, a power failure cannot be ruled out if temperatures fall below average values. “We cannot be sure that we will get through the winter without power cuts,” warns Emmanuelle Wargon, head of France’s energy regulation committee.

Switzerland follows the production of nuclear power plants in France with eagle eyes. If it becomes tight in France, there is a greater risk for Switzerland that EDF will no longer be able to fully fulfill the supplies that have been contractually guaranteed for years. Switzerland imported 20 terawatt hours (TWh) from France in 2021; in summer it delivered 5 TWh in the opposite direction thanks to the reservoirs.

When asked about a possible cessation of French electricity supplies to Switzerland or Italy, neither EDF’s nor RTE’s spokesman declined to comment. You refer to the Swiss grid operator Swissgrid, but this in turn refers to the French producers. No one really seems to know what will happen if the thermometer really drops. (aargauerzeitung.ch)