Strikes Disrupt French Power Supply as Workers Protest

French power production was disrupted on Tuesday by a walkout at nuclear and hydroelectric plants owned by Electricite de France SA. The power outage that was caused by the industrial action resulted to closure of about 2.5GW of electricity generation capacity based on statistics from the state-owned power company. This is 974 MW of hydroelectric and 1500 MW from two reactors at the Paluel nuclear station in northern France.

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The outage accounted for nearly 4% of the country’s total power production at 10:45 GMT, according to the grid operator RTE. However, the estimates show that France will maintain its position as net power exporter during the day implying that it has rather stable system in terms of electricity supply and demand balance. EDF has not given its response to the occurrence.

The strike is linked with other issues facing the energy market. Day ahead electricity prices for Wednesday rose to multi-months high on a predicted decrease in wind power generation in Germany which is next to it, and higher temperatures that are likely to prompt higher demand. These aspects increase the voices about energy security in Europe depending on the further geopolitical events and the climate changes.