Energy Minister Agnes Panier Lunachere announced on the 2nd (local time) that the French Electric Power Company (EDF), which operates the nuclear power plant, will restart all its nuclear reactors this winter.
Minister Panier Lunachere made this statement at a press conference held after the meeting to respond to the energy crisis presided over by President Emmanuel Macron on the same day, daily Le Figaro and Reuters reported.
France relies on nuclear power for 70% of its electricity production. Currently, 32 out of 52 nuclear reactors have stopped operating for maintenance, repair or technical reasons, putting a strain on the power supply.
Minister Panier-Lunachere said that they are checking as many reactors as possible so that they can operate without problems in the winter when demand is high, and that they will restart the reactors one after another from next month.
France, once Europe's largest electricity exporter, fears that it may not be able to produce enough electricity this winter, leading to a worst-case rationing system.
Russia's state-owned gas company Gazprom announced that it would completely suspend gas supply to France from the 1st of this month because it did not receive gas payments for July.
Compared to other EU member states such as Germany, France has a low dependence on natural gas from Russia, and its share has decreased even more after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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