THE long decline of Electricite de France SA (EDF) isn’t only a political crisis for the government in Paris, it’s a growing economic threat for much of Europe. The giant nuclear operator, once a source of national pride and reliable low-cost electricity, has become a nightmare for investors and an increasingly wobbly pillar of regional energy security. Technical problems at some of its largest reactors mean EDF is set to produce the smallest amount of atomic power in three decades, slashing France’s exports to neighboring countries. It’s a one-two punch for a region that’s already reeling from record natural gas prices, and shows little sign of abating. Instead of helping EDF deal with its problems, the French Government is extracting billions of dollars from the company to shield households from high energy costs. “The generic issue with EDF’s reactors is leading to an unprecedented decline in production, which starts being worrying,” said Nicolas Goldberg, a senior manager in charge of energy at Colombus Consulting in Paris. “We’re going to have high prices on the European market for a while. Everybody’s going to pay more.” France is located at the heart of Western Europe’s power grid. For decades, its fleet of nuclear reactors have been the continent’s largest electricity exporter, supplying the U.K., Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany at times of peak demand. Now more than ever — with the price of coal, natural gas and carbon permits soaring — those countries could use some fossil-free electricity. Yet five out of EDF’s 56 reactors have been unexpectedly halted for checks and repairs related to corrosion and cracks on pipes in a key safety system. Traders are waiting anxiously to see whether safety reviews find similar flaws in more of the company’s plants. The timing is terrible, exacerbating what was already Europe’s most severe energy crisis since the oil shock half a century ago. Power prices in France are four times higher than usual for this time of year. That’s partly down to the surging cost of gas, but also due to scarce electricity supplies. Prices in Germany have been dragged higher too by shrinking power-supply margins. With more than two months of winter still to go, there’s a real risk that a cold day without any wind could test the system. “There is very little alternative capacity left in France once demand goes over 85 gigawatts and the interconnectors are maxed out,” said Jean-Paul Harreman, an analyst at research firm Enappsys Ltd. “During cold periods, nuclear outages have a very big impact on prices.” Even before the latest issues, the performance of EDF’s French nuclear plants has progressively waned over the years. Technical problems have undermined the availability of existing plants, while its new flagship reactor in Flamanville is years behind schedule and and way over budget. “The French nuclear industry used to be at the forefront globally, which isn’t the case any more,” said Nicolas Leclerc, the co-founder of Omnegy, an energy consulting firm based near Paris. EDF’s nuclear output, which peaked at 430 terawatt-hours in 2005, fell to 335 terawatt hours in 2020. That was also the year that French President Emmanuel Macron forced the utility to permanently shut down its two oldest reactors to stick to a pledge he made before his election in 2017. After rebounding 361 terawatt-hours last year, EDF’s output will drop to 300-330 terawatt-hours in 2022 because of the need to repair the reactors affected by the cracks, the firm said last week. (SD-Agencies) | 