Revolutionary changes in the relationship of citoyens* and their governments are afoot around the world.
From OilPrice, September 20:
- The French government already owns 84% of Électricité de France, but it is now planning to fully nationalize the company just as the company warns of a huge 29 billion Euro loss.
- After suffering through the global pandemic, France’s nuclear industry is now facing maintenance issues, an absence of new nuclear investment, and a lack of water for cooling due to drought.
- France derives roughly 70% of its energy from nuclear power, and its nuclear power generation is now at an all-time low, highlighting why this is such a major issue for the French government.
France is working up to fully nationalizing the currently 84% state-owned nuclear energy company Électricité de France (EDF) at the same time that the company is anticipating a massive downturn in profits. EDF had already warned investors that its core profits would take a considerable hit this year, but just sharply increased that projected loss to a whopping 29 billion Euros (normally here we would say how much that is in dollars, but the European economy has taken such a downturn – largely thanks to energy woes – that the values of the Euro and the Dollar are virtually identical). The massive loss is thanks to a series of unfortunate events that have led to more than half of EDF’s 56 reactors being taken offline – a record shortage.
France’s nuclear sector has been hit with multiple issues at the worst possible moment. The industry is dealing with a pileup of delays and stoppages thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, a “series of maintenance issues including corrosion at some of France’s aging reactors, troubles at state-controlled energy group EDF and a years-long absence of significant new nuclear investment,” according to reporting from the Financial Times over the summer. In the few months since that FT report, the situation has grown even worse, as a severe drought has caused rivers around Europe to run dry, leaving some French and Swiss nuclear plants without enough water to keep their systems cool.
As a result, French nuclear energy output is at an all-time low. This is a major issue for the nation, which derives about 70% of its energy from nuclear power.....
