Electricite de France SA plans to extend the operating life of two old nuclear power plants in the UK for another two years after they proved their worth during Europe’s energy crunch.
(Bloomberg) — Electricite de France SA plans to extend the operating life of two old nuclear power plants in the UK for another two years after they proved their worth during Europe’s energy crunch.
The stable generation capacity will boost the buffer National Grid Plc needs to balance supply with demand as the market risks becoming too reliant on intermittent renewables. This week, the network operator was forced to ask reserve coal plants to switch on when cold weather coincided with low wind.
EDF plans to continue to run Heysham 1 and Hartlepool to the end of March 2026, two years after they were due to shut, according to a statement.
“The decision has been made after a rigorous review by EDF of the technical and commercial cases for life extension,” the utility said.
EDF’s fleet of five UK atomic plants generated 43.6 terawatt-hours in 2022, up 4% from the year before. By contrast, EDF’s output in France slumped to the lowest in more than three decades after its domestic reactors suffered lengthy outages and safety checks.
Even with these extensions, EDF is closing stations faster than it is adding new ones. The new Hinkley Point C reactor is not due to start until mid-2027 at the earliest.
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EDF has carried out safety checks on both plants and isn’t anticipating any faults that would deny them regulatory approval, according to the statement. Another station of the same design, Hunterston B, closed in January 2022 after the discovery of cracks in the graphite core of the reactors, which would make it too difficult to prove that it would be safe to run.
“Supplying zero-carbon and affordable electricity, whatever the weather, has never been more important than right now,” said Matt Sykes, managing director of EDF’s generation business.
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