The hearing this Wednesday at the National Assembly of Jean-Bernard Lévy, the CEO of EDF, was eagerly awaited. First to have visibility on the energy situation in France on the eve of a winter that promises to be complicated due to the shutdown of several nuclear reactors. Then, to listen to a big boss at the end of his career, in theory freer to express himself than usual, even if the violent criticism expressed recently by the Head of State towards him had enough to push him to play it low profile. In fact, last week Emmanuel Macron has publicly pointed to the responsibility of Jean-Bernard Levy in the current setbacks of French nuclear power.
Priority obliges: the deputies immediately questioned him on the electricity supply for households and businesses this winter. The CEO of EDF wanted to be reassuring. To listen to Jean-Bernard Lévy, the production of electricity should prove to be sufficient. “The objective is to have approximately the same electricity production as the previous winter, when things went well. Every Frenchman had had the electricity he needed,” explained the one who is preparing to leave his functions which he has held since 2015 as soon as the State has decided on the choice of his successor.
The solution to the energy crisis lies in particular in the proper functioning of the French nuclear fleet, currently weighed down by the low availability of reactors. Jean-Bernard Lévy and the senior EDF executives present at his side at the Palais Bourbon were reassuring. To date, 30 reactors are in working order (including 27 already connected to the electricity grid, 3 others available at any time) and 25 shut down. Among these 25 reactors on pause, some forced shutdowns were scheduled for so-called maintenance work. “large fairing”.
25 reactors on pause must be restarted by February
Problem: this ten-year inspection takes much longer since the regulatory tightening following the Fukushima accident in 2011. However, at the same time, EDF is faced with a lack of manpower “because of massive retirements and therefore loss of skills and experience” that make maintenance “much longer” according to Cédric Lewandowski, executive director of the EDF group in charge of nuclear.
On top of this long-planned work, an unexpected difficulty was added: ten reactors were hit by a corrosion phenomenon which weakened their piping. Five others are being investigated for the same suspicion of corrosion. Jean-Bernard Lévy nevertheless boasts of a new technique for repairing microcracks using waves, which avoids direct intervention on the pipes and prolonged blockage of the site.
In the short term, Cédric Lewandowski affirms that in the coming weeks the 25 shutdown reactors will resume service. According to the schedule set by EDF, five reactors will restart in September, five in October, seven in November, three in December, three in January and two in February. There will not be “permanent interruptions (in the sense of “untimely”) this winter”, insisted Jean-Bernard Lévy.
“These exceptional circumstances require urgent action but also a long-term perspective”, he continued. The craftsman of the revival of French nuclear power recognized that it was necessary to take seriously the industrial difficulties that EDF is experiencing in ensuring rapid and efficient maintenance of its power plants.
The leader has repeatedly deplored the lack of skills not only at EDF but also – and above all – at its subcontractors, in the technical trades of welder, boilermaker or even pipefitter. And especially the political procrastination around nuclear power during the 2010 decade. “After Fukushima, many spoke of a nuclear winter. We only gained visibility (on the future of the sector) very recently”he regretted while welcoming the turn taken in fine by the President of the Republic.
The need for a nuclear “Marshall Plan”
“The Belfort speech (made by Emmanuel Macron) in February 2022 clearly set the framework for the development of nuclear power in the medium and long term. We are able to continue to ramp up the sector, with the university of nuclear professions, the Excel plan at the end of 2019. We have launched a welding school in the Cotentin,” recognized Jean-Bernard Lévy, tireless defender of nuclear power. This summer, the executive acted the total renationalization of EDF to have a free hand in the management of the nuclear program.
While he welcomes the nuclear revival project unveiled by Emmanuel Macron in February, after criticizing the Elysée’s volte-face which has long demanded a drop in the nuclear regime, Jean-Bernard Lévy is now urging the government and the powers to go further than simple “debates”. That is to say concretely launch the six second-generation EPRs promised by the President of the Republic at the end of his first term.
“We need the texts, the authorizations to launch the construction sites. We need a “Marshall plan” to relaunch the construction of EPR. The term seems to me justified to have the means » up to the ambition of the Elysée, demanded the CEO of EDF in his final address to parliamentarians. A way to encourage them to pass laws facilitating the establishment of new reactors throughout the territory.
Yesterday Tuesday, facing this same Economic Affairs Committee of the Assembly, the Minister of Industry Agnès Pannier-Runacher specifically mentioned a bill “beginning of 2023 probably (…) which will introduce provisions to save procedural time on the launch of construction sites” nuclear.