French Nuclear Output Recovery Remains Sluggish

French nuclear reactor availability declined this week because of outage extensions and nuclear output is expected to further decline this week amid strike action on 19 Jan according to EdF remit data.

• French nuclear reactor availability stood at 43.27GW this morning, lagging the country’s 45GW target for January.
• The 910MW Gravelines 3 reactor went offline on Monday as an unplanned outage. The unit is scheduled to return on Wednesday.
• The 910MW Gravelines reactor outage has been extended by three days to 24 Jan.
• The 1.5GW Chooz 2 reactor outage has been extended by five days to 27 Jan.
• A 24-hour strike action planned for 19 Jan will also affect the country’s nuclear fleet, EdF said.
• Colder weather in France is likely to support some heating demand in the next seven days, with peak demand rising to 77.2GW, RTE data show.
• Higher demand has also supported net gas storage withdrawals in the region. French gas storage capacity stood at 79.2% of capacity on 15 Jan, compared with 82.4% a week earlier, Agsi data show.