EDF has maintained its French nuclear output target of "higher than 395 TWh" for 2018 as concerns about a regulator-requested file review of parts manufacture by the Creusot forge eased, the French utility said Wednesday after market close while releasing its first quarter earnings.
Submits 9 more Creusot reactor files to ASN with total at 32
High hydro output in France to stretch into summer season
Flags UK Hunterston B 3 reactor issue as key challenge
Meanwhile, French nuclear output for the first four months was up 2.4% on the year at 143.5 TWh with French hydro output soaring 39% to 19.1 TWh, it said, adding that significant snowmelt would support French hydro generation until the summer season.
In the ASN-requested Creusot review, EDF had now submitted files for 32 reactors, up from 23 in February, it said.
"To date, the ASN has confirmed that the components in question of 19 reactors are able to operate in a fully safe mode. These reactors have been allowed to restart by the ASN after their refuelling outages," EDF said.
"For the other files, the first step of identifying the findings is now complete. The analysis of these findings, which has been carried out for more than 70% of the files, confirms that to date, none of these findings is likely to call into question the fully safe operation of the concerned reactors," EDF added in slides for an investor call Wednesday evening.
During the call, Group Vice President Finance Xavier Girre flagged quality deviations at its new French EPR Flamanville-3 with EDF only able to specify whether the project requires an adjustment to its timetable after an additional report by the ASN, which is expected by the end of May.
Asked by analysts about the link between the closure of the Fessenheim NPP, currently scheduled for end-2018, and possible delays to Flamanville-3, Girre did not provide a specific date but confirmed that Fessenheim was legally required to close once fuel loading starts at Flamanville-3 with a six-month lead time required to organize the changes.
Girre also described a quality issue at a UK reactor as a key challenge for 2018.
UK OUTPUT HIT BY CHANGES
UK nuclear output in Q1 fell 5.6% on the year to 15.1 TWh due to an extended outage at Sizewell B and effects from refuelling outages, EDF said.
With UK coal-fired output up 0.6% on the year at 2.6 TWh and gas-fired production flat at 1.9 TWh, the UK's gross production of 21.1 TWh was down slightly for the quarter.
Girre confirmed that the Hunterston B 3 reactor outage in Scotland, announced in early May due to cracks in the reactor core, was expected to carry a 3 TWh impact on EDF Energy's 2018 UK output.
UK sales rose 1.9% on the year to Eur2.6 billion due to higher residential tariffs, "in line with increased supply costs, and higher gas volumes lifted by cold weather in the first quarter of 2018," the company said.
EDF Energy's UK residential customer base was down 2% compared with the end of 2017, it said.
The average spot price in the UK in Q1 was Eur59.70/MWh, up Eur3.90/MWh from Q1 2017. With the French spot price at Eur43.80/MWh, down Eur11.2/MWh year on year, the spread averaged Eur15.90/MWh in Q1.
Net French exports to the UK in the quarter amounted to 3.6 TWh, up from 1.3 TWh in Q1 2017, EDF said.
