In the first quarter, France’s electricity export balances fell behind those of Sweden and Germany. Results which are mainly linked to the tricolor plunge in terms of production, due to persistent problems in the French nuclear fleet.
In the first quarter of 2022, Sweden robbed France of its usual place as the leading net exporter of electricity in Europe, according to analysts at EnAppSys, a consulting firm specializing in energy quoted by the Reuters news agency.
However, the latter ensure that the breakthrough of the Nordic country on the European electricity market is above all the fact of the tricolor plunge, France which generally exports more electricity than it imports having become a net importer of electricity.
Thus, due to persistent problems with its nuclear fleet which led to the shutdown of 30 of its 56 reactors, French exports have halved in 2022 compared to the previous year.
France went from a net exporter of 21.5 terawatt hours (TWh) in the first half of 2021 to a net importer of 2.5 TWh in the first half of 2022, with imports doubling to 18.9 TWh and exports falling to 16, 4 TWh.
At the same time Sweden was a net exporter of 16 Twh, including 7 to Finland and 4 to Denmark, its main customers, according to figures compiled by EnAppSys. Germany, meanwhile, became the second-largest net exporter with 15.4 TWh, double levels recorded in mid-2021, as power generation in the country met France’s import demand. , according to EnAppSys.
A tense situation at the approach of a winter when Germany fears drastic reductions in its gas supply, a large part of which is used for the generation of electricity, the rest being used for heating or as a raw material in the chemical industry. However, still according to the data provided by EnAppSys, the availability of the nuclear fleet in France this week represented only half of the total installed capacity.
In an attempt to maintain electricity supplies, the French nuclear energy regulator earlier this week extended temporary derogations allowing five power stations to discharge hot water into rivers at an unusually high temperature as the country is facing its fourth heat wave of the summer and an energy crisis.