By Forrest Crellin
PARIS (Reuters) -French utility EDF’s electricity production was reduced by 2.7 gigawatts on Wednesday, data from the company showed, as workers lowered power output as part of industrial action in the power and gas sector focused on pensions and wages.
The action has so far been limited in scope, but demonstrations are expected to broaden in the coming weeks, reflecting the low approval ratings of the government, which faces a confidence vote on Monday.
Nuclear power production was reduced by 2.1 GW with four reactors affected and hydropower production was down 630 megawatts, the data showed.
The reductions at the Flamanville 1 and 2 reactors and the Dampierre 2 reactor are expected to last until late on Wednesday, while the Saint Alban 1 reactor is expected back online at 1300 GMT, EDF data showed.
France has 57 GW of total nuclear capacity, which produces about 70% of the country’s annual electricity.
France is expected to remain a net power exporter throughout the day as electricity production from wind and solar made up nearly a third of total production while the disruptions were just 4.4% of overall supply, data from grid operator RTE showed.
At midday, 3.7% of the total workforce at EDF was on strike, a company spokesperson said.
In the gas sector, the industrial action at the Dunkirk LNG terminal has remained limited to a small impact on some work in progress, a spokesperson for Belgian gas terminal operator Fluxys said.
“There is no impact on the output flow rate, neither on ship unloading operations nor on the truck loading operations,” the spokesperson said.
The Dunkirk LNG terminal is the second largest in continental Europe and the only terminal directly connected to two separate markets – Belgium and France – accounting for about 20% of both countries’ annual gas consumption.
(Reporting by Forrest Crellin; editing by Barbara Lewis and Philippa Fletcher)
