Liz Truss makes Leigh audience laugh with jibe at Macron
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According to a report by energy data analyst EnAppSys published on Wednesday, France has gone from being a net exporter of energy earlier this year to a net importer. It comes after significant problems with its nuclear fleet arose, including a shutdown of ageing reactors after cracks appeared as they neared the end of their lifespan. This led to the shutdown of 12 reactors out of 56, while 18 were also shut down for programmed maintenance operations.
A heatwave has also forced some power plants to shut down including the Tricastin (Drôme) due to high river temperatures.
And as France usually gets 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, it left Paris scrambling to shore up supplies from other nations amid the slashed levels of production.
Citing the “structural problems with its nuclear fleet”, EnAppSys’s director Jean-Paul Harreman warned that the issue also “shows no sign of improving soon”, which could spark panic for Mr Macron.
He also noted that while France’s exports dropped, the UK’s ramped up in order to aid the nation with its nuclear shutdowns and plummeting production levels.
Mr Harreman said: “In the first half of the year, the GB electricity market was notable for interconnector flows flipping from a net import position to a net export position.
“France was by far the largest consumer due to the longstanding issues with its nuclear fleet – a situation that shows no signs of improving any time soon.
“France’s nuclear issues have resulted in an exceptional net-import position for the French market.
“This has been exacerbated by high gas prices, which has made it less financially attractive for France to export usual amounts of gas into Europe. This in turn has pushed gas assets out of merit across Europe.”
Now, northern European nations have taken the limelight as the energy export giants of the continent.
Sweden has taken the lead, exporting 16 terawatt hours (TWh) between January and June, mostly to Finland and Denmark.
But behind Sweden is Germany, despite the nation receiving slashed volumes gas transiting from Russia, which has sparked emergency warnings in the nation.
Even though its Economy Minister Robert Habeck has warned that the situation over winter could become so dire that the nation may have to resort to gas rationing, Germany still sent 15.4 TWh of electricity to its neighbours between January and June.
This marks a two-fold increase from the previous six months of 2021, sparked largely by the need to meet demand in France.
Bulgaria has also been boosting its energy exports, sending over 6.6 TWh to neighbouring states over these months.
Italy remained the continent’s biggest net importer during the period, receiving 22 TWh mostly from Switzerland and France.
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France’s dip down the rankings also comes as its state-owned energy giant EDF reports making huge losses.
The company suffered from a staggering €5.6billion (£4.4billion) loss in the first half of the year, largely due to the plummeting production levels.
President of EDF, Jean-Bernard Lévy said: “In the history of EDF, has there ever been a half-year with such negative figures? I doubt it very much.
“The first half-year results reflect the difficulties encountered in nuclear production in France and to a lesser extent in hydroelectricity, as well as the effect of the tariff shield put in place in France for 2022.”
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.
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