Nuclear : the judgments of reactors are going to cost 1 billion euros to EDF in 2016 – The Echoes

The invoice of stops of nuclear reactors swells to EDF. Thursday evening, the group revised down for the third time in its nuclear production for 2016, now projected to be between 378 and 385 terawatt-hours, compared to 414 TWh initially targeted. ” EDF is doing its best to have the maximum number of reactors in service “, but ” the ASN (the nuclear safety Authority, editor’s NOTE) we are not allowed to restart some of the reactors in spite of our request “, has justified the CEO of EDF, Jean-Bernard Lévy, Friday on the sidelines of an energy conference. the ” We believe that these reactors can be operational but the DSC is not of the same opinion. They have requested more information before making a decision, where the restart late in some of the reactors compared to the initial program that we had until two days ago “, he added. The steam generators in these reactors are subject to controls following the discovery of carbon levels that are too high on some of them, affecting their performance in the event of a problem.

These rulings are a big blow to the finances of EDF. For the third time also, the group has revised its range of gross operating surplus (Ebitda), now set between 16 and 16.3 billion euros. At the beginning of the year, EDF was counting on a drop of 16.3 to 16.8 billion euros, not counting the catch-up tariff imposed by the council of State on bills of past years, and integrated, since the revision of the Ebitda of this summer, with the forecast of EDF.

in The end, the cost of forced outages of reactors following controls and falsification of records at the factory at Areva le Creusot (Saône-et-Loire) results for EDF in a shortfall of at least 1 billion euros, recognised in the entourage of the group. In volume, the loss of production is estimated between 29 and 36 terawatt-hours, which EDF would have been able to run between 30 and 32 euros per megawatt hour. Friday, the title ended down 3.2%, to 9,78 euros.

uncertainties

financial analysts are also concerned about the impacts for 2017. In September, EDF has already downgraded from 20 to 30 TWh forecast of nuclear production for the next year (390 to 400 Wh intended against 420 TWh initially targeted). And if the group has anticipated that the controls on several of the reactors which would have had to stop next year, it has not raised its forecast of production, given the large uncertainties that remain. The examination of 6000 records the nuclear that must lead Areva after the discovery this summer of tampering on a folder of manufacture, however, “non-barre” to a steam generator, and will take more than a year, and all the actors expect to find some anomalies.

The final cost for EDF will then depend on the decisions of the ASN, when it will have drawn its conclusions on the levels of carbon excessive steam generators : it can, in theory, allow without conditions for the resumption of production, request changes in equipment, or to impose operating conditions restrictive, particularly on the tank of the EPR of Flamanville (Manche).