LETTER: French energy firm in same boat as Eskom

Eskom may be in terminal decline, but it is not the only national energy producer in this predicament. Just look at Electricite de France (EDF).

Owned 84% by the French government, an increasing number of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors were having their lives increased by 10 years, in the same way as Koeberg, when stress cracks were found in the cooling pipes. The consequent downtime has reduced nuclear generation more than 20%.

The new Flamanville reactor is still not finished, nine years behind schedule with an expected cost at least triple the original budget. High carbon spots have been identified in the reactor casing — difficult, if not impossible, to rectify at this stage of construction. The supplier, Le Creusot Forge, allegedly knew about but concealed this information.

EDF’s shares sank 20% in January when President Emmanuel Macron forced the company to sell more electricity to competitors at reduced rates, in an effort to keep electricity prices down in the run-up to the election. Safety upgrades to coastal reactors consequent to the Fukushima disaster will, or have, increased electricity prices more than 10%, and who knows what additional precautions will be required since Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia have been fought over in the Ukrainian war?

EDF just confirms that national power generation should be protected from pork-barrel politics and corrupt politicians. Vanity projects must be resisted and power sources diversified, with an increased renewable energy percentage. Despite the current net-zero hysteria, the move away from coal must happen only as alternative reliable sources come on line, bearing in mind that electric cars will increase demand. Nuclear for base load has its place, but is expensive and has been oversold.  

James Cunningham
Camps Bay

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