EDF is making an effort to conserve its supply for colder weather because there will be a greater need for electricity.
In an effort to preserve electricity amid concerns about blackouts, the state-owned energy firm EDF of France has just slammed the breaks on seven nuclear reactors.
Despite the country’s recent struggles with its power generation, data on Thursday showed that the reactors with a combined capacity of 6.3 gigawatts have been turned off to save fuel for the impending colder winter.
As the nation struggles to secure enough supplies for the coming winter, four French units—Tricastin 1 (915 MV), Cruas (915 MV), St Laurent (915 MV), and Dampierre 4 (890 MV)—were turned off on Thursday and will reactivate on Sunday.
The nuclear fleet is very old and crumbling, according to Dr Paul Dorfman, a nuclear expert from the University of Sussex and anti-nuclear activist: “France may have to roll out organised blackouts too…Even power is now imported into France from Germany.”
Additionally, this occurs after it was discovered that France has surpassed all other countries as the primary importer of Russian natural gas.
Experts have cautioned that blackouts in the UK will become more likely if France fails to prevent its own outages, even if conserving nuclear fuel in anticipation of a potential shutdown could give EDF a lifeline when temperatures plunge.
It comes after National Grid issued a warning that, if the UK doesn’t secure enough energy imports this winter, it would be forced to implement planned blackouts during the coldest winter months at peak periods to maintain grid balance.
