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☆ France’s EDF Lost $19 Billion After Nuclear Outages
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

EDF’s nuclear reactors normally export large amounts of electricity across Western Europe. PARIS— EDF SA lost around $19 billion last year after outages at its nuclear reactors left the state-controlled power company—and much of Western Europe—more exposed to the energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine. Pipe corrosion found at around 10 of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors led it to shut down more than half of them over the summer. As a result, EDF was forced to buy electricity on Europe’s wholesale power market, where prices had soared because of Russia’s decision to cut shipments of natural gas to the continent.

☆ French power supply reduced due to strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - French power supply has been reduced by 3.7 gigawatts as production at two nuclear reactors and several thermal plants was lowered due to a strike over planned pension reforms, data from power utility EDF (EDF.PA) showed on Tuesday. The hydraulic power sector of EDF also posted a strike notice for Thursday midday hours. Reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK energy support schemes' cost halved as mild winter tames prices - NAO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the interest of speed, it chose to role out universal support, granting 400 pounds this winter to each household regardless of need. It also capped average domestic energy bills at 2,500 pounds a year until March 31 and at 3,000 pounds until April 2024. When the scheme was first launched the government had said average bills would be capped at 2,500 pounds a year until April 2024. Last month, Britain announced plans to scale back energy subsidies for businesses for the next financial year by about 85% to 5.5 billion pounds. Without the government measures average household energy bills were set to rise more than 170% to over 3,500 pound this winter from a year earlier.

☆ France seeks strategy as nuclear waste site risks saturation point
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Benjamin Mallet | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Used nuclear fuel is seen in a storage pool at the Orano nuclear waste reprocessing plant in La Hague, near Cherbourg, France, January 17, 2023. "We can't have a responsible nuclear policy without taking into account the handling of used fuel and waste. La Hague is the country's sole site able to process and partially recycle used nuclear fuel. Meanwhile, France's national agency for managing nuclear waste last month requested approval for a project to store permanently high-level radioactive waste. The facility at La Hague, with its 1980s-era buildings and Star Wars-style control rooms, has its limitations.

☆ There's a buzz about green hydrogen. But pink, produced using nuclear, may have a huge role to play too
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In this article EDF-FRNG.-GBTSLA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTBoth pink and blue have been used to differentiate between different methods of hydrogen production. Indeed, according to a Sept. 2022 tracking report from the International Energy Agency, low-emission hydrogen production in 2021 accounted for less than 1% of global hydrogen production. These include green hydrogen, which refers to hydrogen produced using renewables and electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. "But splitting water takes energy, so what pink hydrogen is about is splitting water using energy that has come from nuclear." This needed "supportive policies which encourage investment in early hydrogen production projects and encourage users to switch from fossil fuels to low carbon hydrogen."

The slogan reads "No to the Macron's pension reform". In what could prove a prolonged standoff, unions and their members are seeking to minimise the impact on personal finances already strained by the worst cost of living crisis in decades. French unions generally do not have permanent strike funds to help members cope, though some will set up occasional kitties financed by donations for a specific cause. While it is generally used to cover legal fees and compensate workers in local strikes, members are now clamouring for it to help cover lost pay during the pension strikes. However, even before the cost of living crisis, French unions have struggled to resist government reform plans in the decades since massive strikes in 1995 successfully forced a conservative government to drop a pension overhaul.

[1/6] French energy workers on strike gather with dockers near tyres set on fire as they protest against French government's pension reform plan, in the port of Saint-Nazaire, France, January 26, 2023. An Elabe poll for BFM showed 72% of the French are against the pension reform. "Oil workers are against this (pension) reform but they don't want to be on the front line," said a CGT union representative for Exxonmobil. A spokesperson for Esso, whose two French refinery sites are run by ExxonMobil (XOM.N), said only truck loading operations were suspended at Fos, with everything else operating normally. A union representative added that production at the Port Jerome site was slightly impacted.

☆ Morning bid: Running out of breath
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asian equities held steady on Wednesday near seven-month highs after a mixed session on Wall Street. On a thin day for economic data, focus will be on U.K. producer prices and the German IFO. Revenue at Europe's largest companies is expected to have risen by just 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Refinitiv I/B/E/S data showed on Tuesday. The forecast, which tracks companies listed on the pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) benchmark index, represents a drop from last week when analysts expected revenue growth of 4%. Analysts downgrade earnings forecastsInvestment strategists at Standard Chartered say it is time to fade the rally seen in European stocks and the euro since the lows of September.

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Spain's markets and competition regulator is reviewing whether gas distributor Madrilena Red de Gas (MRG) has complied with legislation designed to protect the financial strength of energy distributors, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The amendment grew out of worries about the excessive indebtedness of the gas transportation and distribution networks. The CNMC has not to date published a notice of regulatory action concerning MRG. The filings also show that MRG's ultimate parent Elisandra Spain IV - Elisandra Spain V's sole owner - paid dividends totalling more than 104 million euros to its shareholders. At the end of 2021, MRG carried 925.5 million euros of net adjusted financial debt on its balance sheet, 6.55 times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), per its latest annual accounts.

☆ France now holds over 90% in EDF, allowing for squeeze-out, ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The French state acquired enough EDF (EDF.PA) shares on the market to start squeeze-out proceedings as it fully nationalises the nuclear energy giant, the finance ministry said on Friday. The government now holds 92.71% of voting rights in EDF, the ministry said, marking the successful end of the full takeover proceedings, launched by President Emmanuel Macron's government last summer, which cost Paris some $10 million. Debt-laden EDF (EDF.PA), Europe's biggest nuclear power operator, runs France's nuclear reactor fleet, some hydropower plants and other production sites and supplies millions of households with electricity. Its de-listing from the Paris stock market will be the end of an era for the utility which was partially privatised in 2005, when a chunk of its share capital was floated at 33 euros ($35.82) a share. ($1 = 0.9213 euros)Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How food giant Danone plans to cut planet-warming methane emissions by 30% this decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Danone aims to cut methane emissions across the farms supplying its milk by 30% this decade. Farming accounts for 40% of man-made methane emissions globally. Danone this week promised to cut methane emissions across the farms supplying its milk by 30% by the end of the decade. Cow burps, manure pits, and fertilizers make agriculture the top source, accounting for 40% of man-made methane emissions, the study found. As of December, the US Department of Agriculture had invested more than $3 billion in what it calls climate-smart projects, including for Danone dairy farmers.

☆ Strike reduces French power supply, halts refinery shipments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

EDF's (EDF.PA) outage table showed a 4.5 GW nuclear supply reduction at eight reactors, 460 megawatts (MW) of reduced hydropower and 2.8 GW of lower thermal production. This is how strikes work in France : strikers are not allowed to put security of supply at risk," analyst Emeric de Vigan said. Meanwhile, deliveries of refined oil products were blocked from leaving refineries operated by TotalEnergies , the company said. There would be no disruption to fuel supplies at service stations if the unions maintained their strike timetable, TotalEnergies has said. The CGT refineries federation has called for a single day of strike this week and further walkouts next week and the week after.

☆ Shell unit to acquire EV charging firm Volta for about $169 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Volta Inc (VLTA.N) said on Wednesday that a Shell Plc (SHEL.L) subsidiary would take over the electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator in an all-cash deal valued at about $169 million. Shell USA Inc will acquire all outstanding shares of Class A common stock of Volta for 86 cents apiece in cash in a deal that is expected to close in the first half of the year, Volta said. Shell and other companies such as France's EDF (EDF.PA) and Norway's Statkraft [RIC:RIC:STATKF.UL] have been investing in EV charging infrastructure to cash in on the growing demand for EVs. As part of the deal, Shell USA will also provide loans to Volta to help the company through the closing of the deal. Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital served as advisers to Volta, while Shearman & Sterling LLP served as its legal adviser.

☆ French nuclear waste agency applies for new storage site
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Jan 17 (Reuters) - France's national agency for managing nuclear waste has applied to the ministry of ecological transition for the creation of a project for the long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste, the agency said on Tuesday. Construction could begin as soon as 2027 if the French nuclear safety authority approves the application. Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands are also examining the construction of long-term high-level radioactive waste storage sites. Andra, the nuclear waste treatment agency, said this latest application for the storage site did not include the six new EPR nuclear reactors currently under consideration for construction by French power giant EDF (EDF.PA), citing the lack of a final decision to embark on the new build. Pierre-Marie Abadie, director general for Andra, said that the agency has in the past published a report saying waste from six new nuclear reactors could be encompassed in the future storage project "without difficulty."

☆ Factbox: Workers vs Macron: What to expect from Thursday's strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Two cabin crew unions and a union at Air France (AIRF.PA) called on employees to attend the strike. FINANCEThe banking and financial industry branch of the FO union called on employees to join the strike. The Unsa-Sante union has filed a strike notice from Jan. 10 until Feb. 1, citing the pensions reform specifically. LOGISTICSThe FO union of truck drivers and other logistics workers announced "indefinite" strike action from Jan. 19 to "win the fight" against the reform. REFINERIESThe CGT trade union announced strikes in the refinery sector, where petrol supplies were disrupted last year during weeks of industrial action.

☆ Edison CEO denies EDF planning to sell Italian company - paper
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Edison's (EDNn.MI) chief executive said on Thursday that rumours French power group EDF (EDF.PA) plans to sell its Italian arm are "groundless". There is not an Edison dossier at the moment", Nicola Monti was quoted as saying in an interview with Italian daily La Stampa. EDF denied an Italian media report last August that it was considering a sale of its Italian unit. Energy analysts have said a sale of Edison could help EDF reduce its debt and press ahead with an ambitious investment plan. Italian media reported in August that EDF planned to kick off a sale process for Edison in the first quarter of this year once the nationalisation process had been completed.

☆ French energy suppliers will let struggling bakers renegotiate contracts - Le Maire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Jan 3 (Reuters) - France's energy suppliers have agreed to allow the country's trademark bakeries to renegotiate their contracts if they struggle to pay their bills, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday. Dominique Anract, the president of the French Bakers' Confederation, earlier told Reuters that getting rid of "rotten contracts" was one of the sector's main demands. Bakery power contracts can now be reviewed on a "case by case" basis depending on each bakers' situation, he said after the meeting with executives from suppliers including EDF (EDF.PA) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA). Le Maire earlier said power suppliers had so far not done enough to help the country's small and medium-sized businesses cope with rising power costs. Earlier in the day, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne confirmed plans to help French bakers cope with rising energy bills, allowing them to spread the payment of their taxes over time and possibly "the payment of their energy bills for the first months of the year".

☆ French PM: more confident about France's energy supplies for the coming weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Jan 3 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Tuesday that she was more confident over the situation of French energy supplies for the next few weeks, citing lower consumption and an increase in nuclear output capacity. Borne confirmed plans to help French bakers cope with rising energy bills, allowing them to spread the payment of their taxes over time and possibly "the payment of their energy bills for the first months of the year". "I am more confident over the coming weeks," Borne told Franceinfo radio, when asked about energy supplies, adding that she had discussed the situation with energy company EDF (EDF.PA). Last week, the head of the country's CRE energy watchdog, Emmanuelle Wargon said there was no risk to power supplies until at least mid-January as French households and businesses had heeded calls to cut their energy consumption. French grid operator RTE said last week electricity consumption dropped by 8.7% over the past four weeks compared to an average of the same period in 2014-2019.

☆ France's energy watchdog sees no risk to power supplies until at least mid-January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 28 (Reuters) - There is no risk to power supplies in France until at least mid-January, the head of the country's CRE energy watchdog, Emmanuelle Wargon, said on Wednesday. The government has set a target of cutting France's energy consumption by 10% by 2024 from 2019 levels, as part of a wide ranging plan that includes turning off lights and lowering thermostats to avoid power and gas cuts over the winter amid the war in Ukraine. "We remain attentive and vigilant" in case temperatures drop, she said, adding that "until mid-January, we know we won't have problems". Wargon also said that France's nuclear fleet, currently hit by maintenance and repair works, is expected to reach a production capacity of 45 gigawatts (GW) in January. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ French winter power supply risk cut to 'medium', says RTE
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The risk to French power supply from the start of January through the rest of winter has been reduced to 'medium' because of higher nuclear and hydropower availability as well as reduced demand from consumers, French grid operator RTE said on Tuesday. Nuclear power utility EDF (EDF.PA) has faced an unprecedented number of reactor outages this year owing to delayed maintenance and stress corrosion, reducing nuclear output to 30-year lows just as Russia's war in Ukraine hit Europe's energy supplies. Nuclear power availability topped 40 GW on Dec. 12, lifting supply to the top of the expected availability range, RTE said. The filling level of French gas stocks has dropped to about 85% after beginning the winter near full, which is higher than previous years, RTE said. There is no concern for the first part of winter thanks to high gas supply across the continent, but vigilance will be needed for the second half of winter and especially winter 2023-24, RTE added.

☆ Factbox: How governments are trying to ease impact of inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

* Ecuador's president decreed a 6% minimum wage hike for next year. * Hungary's government and private-sector employers have agreed on a 16% minimum wage increase for next year. * Poland will cap electricity prices for small businesses, hospitals and households in 2023, and raise the minimum wage twice. * Tunisia's government in September signed a deal with a major labour union to raise public-sector pay and the minimum wage. * Turkey in July raised the minimum wage by about 30%, adding to the 50% rise seen at the end of last year.

☆ France copes with high power demand on nuclear supply ramp-up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - France on Monday avoided a strain on its power grids in the face of rising demand as Paris recorded sub-zero temperature, thanks to a ramp-up in supply in nuclear as well as hydro power and strong imports from neighbouring countries. Demand rose above 80 gigawatts (GW) during peak morning hours for the first time this winter, according to a spokesperson for RTE, the country's transmission system operator. France's nuclear availability was able to supply above 40 GW as its plants returned to levels last seen in early March over the weekend. The French transmission system operator has pretty comfortable margins so far, Emeric de Vigan, vice president of power at data and analytics firm Kpler, said in a tweet. Nuclear operator EDF (EDF.PA) ramped up output at three nuclear reactors on Friday following repairs and said it hopes to start fixing stress corrosion issues at its Penly 2 reactor in mid-January.

REUTERS/Denis BalibousePARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - France's state-controlled utility EDF said on Friday three of its nuclear reactors were "ramping up" production after repairs, while a power outage tested nerves in Paris and cold weather added to the strain on supplies across Europe. EDF (EDF.PA) is racing to get nuclear reactors back online following work to tackle corrosion problems as the whole of Europe struggles to cope with the impact on its energy supplies of the Ukraine war. Compounding the impact of disrupted energy imports from Russia, a record number of outages at EDF's 56-strong nuclear fleet has taken France's nuclear output to a 30-year low, increasing the country's reliance on other country's depleted energy reserves. Later on Friday, EDF Chief Executive Luc Remont and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire are due to hold a news conference at a nuclear site. POWER CUTSGrid operator RTE, however, says the country's power supplies will be stretched even if EDF manages to stick to its repair schedule, and partial load-shedding measures cannot be ruled out this winter on cold days.

☆ EDF, Fortum agree to study nuclear newbuild in Finland and Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - French power group EDF (EDF.PA) and energy group Fortum said on Thursday they had signed an framework agreement to study opportunities for cooperation to develop nuclear reactor projects in Finland and Sweden, both with conventional large reactors (EPR) and small- and medium-sized reactors (SMR). EDF said it has the ambition to deploy a fleet of EPR units across Europe. The company is currently developing the 340 MWe NUWARD SMR, targeted for commercialisation as early as 2025, the statement said. Reporting by Dominique VidalonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Winter freeze tests French power grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Temperatures dropping close to zero in coming days will pose the first real test of the resilience of France's electricity grid amid warnings over possible power cuts, though President Emmanuel Macron urged the French not to panic. "Consumption is set to peak at 80 GW (versus 73 GW on Dec. 5), while wind power is expected to be below normal. Should the nuclear availability remain at 37-38 GW the supply gap risk would be much more acute than today." Meanwhile, further delays on nuclear reactors were announced at the weekend. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReporting by Ingrid Melander and Forrest Crellin, editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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