According to analysts, cold weather could cause power outages in France on Monday, as delays in restarting nuclear power following repair work leave supply lagging demand.
Nuclear power supply was projected to reach approximately 40 gigatonnes (GW) this week, but EDF’s delay in restarting reactors reduced it to around 35 GW, leaving France more reliant on imports and gas-fired generation.
According to Refinitiv analyst Nathalie Gerl, the scenario as a cold spell hits northwestern Europe this weekend and next week would be ‘far more urgent’ if attempts to restrict demand, particularly by large industrial customers, were not made.
She added there was still a chance of a shortage on Monday.
‘If we stay at 35 GW, next week Monday might be pretty tight: we estimate demand to be around usually seasonally normal levels, but 35 GW of nuclear would be insufficient to satisfy a possible demand peak of 73 GW,’ Gerl added.
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