EDF Told to Review Reactor-Check Program After Penly Crack Found

By Bloomberg

Mar 08, 2023

image is BloomburgMedia_RR6WIGT1UM0W01_08-03-2023_11-00-06_638138304000000000.jpg

The Penly nuclear power plant, operated by Electricite de France SA (EDF), in Penly, France, on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. France's nuclear reactors are returning to the market just as the cold snap worsens, EDF's Chief Executive Officer Luc Remont said the restart of its units provides confidence that it can make it through a challenging winter.

(Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA must review its program of reactor checks after the utility found yet another crack earlier this year, the country’s nuclear safety authority said.

It’s not clear how the review will affect nuclear output, which EDF expects to recover this year after plunging in 2022 amid multiple halts for repairs. The shutdowns, caused by stress corrosion cracks on cooling-system pipes, added pressure to Europe’s strained energy system as Russian gas supplies dwindled.

EDF said last month it found a crack on a pipe at its Penly-1 reactor, which was already offline for maintenance. The defect is located near a weld that had been mended twice during the plant’s construction.

“This significant stress corrosion defect was probably generated by a targeted double-repair operation during the initial pipe layout,” EDF said Feb. 24. “This will lead to repairs to the affected area.”

The crack means that the resilience of the pipe can’t be assured, the Autorite de Surete Nucleaire said in a statement late Tuesday. EDF is currently checking welds on other emergency cooling lines that have been repaired in the past, according to the ASN.

EDF’s nuclear output sank last year to the lowest since 1988 as it halted about a dozen reactors to replace cracked pipes.

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By Francois de Beaupuy