France is undergoing an energy crisis without precedent since the oil crisis of the 1970s. Total electricity production reached its lowest level since 1992, due to exceptionally low nuclear and hydro generation. Only 62.7% of the electricity produced last year was nuclear. The operator EDF has experienced problems with the discovery of corrosion on pipes crucial to the safety of nuclear power plants and delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to a drop in the average availability of the reactor fleet. Dams also produced less electricity due to unusually hot and dry weather.
Production problems
In 2022, total electricity production is down by 15% compared to 2021, mainly due to low nuclear and hydro generation. Nuclear production has reached its lowest level since 1988, well before the end of the construction of the nuclear park, with a production of only 279 TWh in 2022, far from the 430 TWh in 2005. The average availability of the 56 reactors has fallen to 54% in 2022, threatening the country with power cuts in the middle of winter. Dams also produced less electricity due to unusually hot and dry weather. Production has reached its “lowest level” since the 1976 drought, down 20% from the 2014-2019 average.
Net importer of electricity
France has become a net importer of electricity in 2022, a situation not seen since 1980 according to the electricity transmission system operator RTE. Compared to historical average values (2014-2019), consumption in 2022 has decreased by 4.2% to 459.3 TWh, and even by 9% in the last quarter. As production has fallen more than consumption, France has had to compensate by running its gas-fired power plants and importing electricity from its neighbors, without being able to export as much as before.
The energy transition in France is progressing
France has managed to maintain its security of supply despite the unprecedented crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to a mild autumn and early winter, the mobilization of individuals and businesses called for sobriety, as well as electricity imports and the return of the nuclear fleet.
Even so, 2022 saw progress in the energy transition, with 5 gigawatts of renewable installations coming online, another record broken according to RTE. However, RTE warns that an acceleration is still essential, as the electricity produced in France in 2022 remained at 87% of decarbonated origin, against about 91% over the period 2014-2021. Gas-fired power generation has taken the place of wind power behind nuclear and hydro in 2022, but France has not signed the great comeback of coal, which only accounted for 0.6% of the generation mix.
