PARIS (Reuters) – EDF will have to significantly increase its investments, to a level of around 25 billion euros per year, in particular to meet the maintenance needs of its nuclear fleet and the construction of new reactors in France, said group CEO Luc Rémont on Wednesday.
During a hearing by the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, the CEO also recalled the need for the public company to adopt a new economic model, with in particular a reflection on the price of electricity.
“Never in history has the EDF group had to invest so much in several areas at the same time,” said Luc Rémont, indicating that the approximately 25 billion euros of annual investments planned – at an unspecified deadline – would be 80% concentrated in France. In 2022, EDF’s net investments reached 16.4 billion.
Recalling that EDF was embarking on “this steep path” while being weighed down by a debt of 65 billion euros, Luc Rémont once again pleaded in favor of long-term contracts as the basis of the group’s economic model post-2025, after the end of the current regulation of Arenh (Regulated access to historical nuclear electricity), whose negative impact on his accounts has long been criticized by the electrician.
“To approach the investment phase (which is looming), it is essential that we work on a new national consensus on what the price of electricity is (…), without which EDF will not be able to release the resources which are necessary to ensure its own continuity of operation, “said Luc Rémont.
“It is obviously a colossal challenge for the company to be able to support (its) curve (of investments), but it is possible, and it is possible without blowing up prices, it is possible with a reasonable approach on the market level (…) which makes it possible to have, on the basis of long-term contracts, something reasonable for our fellow citizens.
Luc Rémont also repeated that EDF could not finance the construction of new power plants alone and would therefore need state aid, while the government planned to specify at the end of 2024 the methods of financing the construction project of at least six new EPR2 type reactors.
The CEO of EDF also confirmed the objective of 300-330 terawatt-hours (TWh) of nuclear production in France in 2023, adding that a level of 350 TWh was targeted from 2025.
(Report Benjamin Mallet, edited by Nicolas Delame)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
