Strikes At French NPPs May Lead To Energy Deficit In Winter - Operator

Ongoing strikes at French nuclear power plants may lead to serious consequences for energy supply in winter, RTE, the French electricity transmission system operator, said on Tuesday

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2022) Ongoing strikes at French nuclear power plants may lead to serious consequences for energy supply in winter, RTE, the French electricity transmission system operator, said on Tuesday.

"Strike action at a number of nuclear power plants has led to 2-3 week shutdown extensions for those reactors which were expected to resume work in the immediate or near future. This also causes delays in carrying out repair work on the remaining reactors," RTE said in a report, adding that, "the continuation of the strikes would have serious consequences in the heart of winter."

Last month, RTE said that it did not rule out the possibility of power outages this winter, noting that they will be avoided only if energy consumption is reduced by 1%-5% or by 15% in the case of an extremely cold winter.

According to the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), a French trade union, strikes are taking place at 10 nuclear power plants, where employees are demanding higher wages. The walkouts affect France's largest nuclear power plant Gravelines, as well as the plants at Cruas, Cattenom, Tricastin, Bugey, Dampierre, Paluel, Saint-Laurent, Belleville and Saint-Alban.

At the same time, the national electric utility company EDF, which operates the country's nuclear power plants, states that only six out of 18 nuclear power plants are affected by the strikes. EDF has pledged to complete repairs on all shut-down power units before winter in order to avoid electricity shortages in the country. At the moment, only 31 of France's 56 nuclear reactors are in operation.

The largest French trade unions, including the CGT, Workers' Force (FO), and Solidaires are staging a general inter-professional strike on Tuesday, demanding higher wages. CGT RATP, the Paris transport operator's leading union, as well as SUD-Rail and CGT-Cheminots, leading unions at French railway operator SNCF, have also joined the movement, which has led to disruptions in the schedules of the Paris subway, as well as ground transport, commuter trains and international trains.