The EDF group announced on Thursday that it had revised upwards the weight of the drop in its electricity production.
It is estimated at 29 billion euros for the 2022 financial year against 24 billion announced in July.
This new estimate is based on the downward revision of nuclear production for 2022, located "at the bottom of the 280-300 TWh (terawatt-hour) range and 2022 futures prices on September 13", indicates EDF.
The group's nuclear production should experience a historic low this year due to the exceptional unavailability of part of its nuclear fleet with 26 of its 56 reactors shut down, according to figures released Wednesday by management.
She also assured that the missing reactors would restart for the passage of winter 2022, announced as tense in terms of energy security.
Disruptions in 2023 and 2024
At the origin of this situation are two events: the delay in ten-year maintenance caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the discovery last winter of corrosion problems, forcing EDF to undertake an almost general inspection.
For 2023, EDF maintains its nuclear production targets at 300-330 TWh, against 340-370 TWh previously.
For 2024, EDF's nuclear electricity production is still likely to be affected by the continuation of major maintenance, with an estimate of between 315 and 345 TWh, according to initial forecasts published by the group on Tuesday.
While the government has just announced an extension of the tariff shield with an increase in electricity and gas prices capped at 15%, the group has indicated that its objectives, "at the end of 2023, will be subject to a review once the terms of the regulation
(of electricity tariffs
) for 2023 are specified”.
Weighed down by a debt that could peak at more than 60 billion euros at the end of 2022, the electrician has seen its financial situation further weighed down in recent months by the government's decision, at the start of the year, to make it sell more cheap electricity to its competitors to protect household bills.
