Archival photo of power lines and the EDF nuclear power plant at Dampierre-en-Burly, France
PARIS (Archyde.com) – France on Saturday denied press reports that EDF might interrupt its electricity exports to Italy and reaffirmed its commitment to “solidarity” with its neighbors in the face of the European energy crisis.
The newspaper La Repubblica and the Bloomberg agency had previously reported a message from EDF to the Italian government evoking a potential interruption of electricity supplies provided by the group for a period of up to two years.
“The French authorities firmly deny this information and reaffirm their commitment to reciprocal electricity and gas solidarity with all of our European neighbors,” said the Ministry of Energy Transition in a written statement.
“The full operation of electrical interconnections is a priority for the collective security of supply and France will fully respect its commitment to support its European partners”, added the ministry headed by Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
An EDF spokesman also denied that the group had warned Italy of a possible suspension of its electricity exports.
EDF, in the process of complete renationalisation, is facing problems with the availability of its power stations which have caused its nuclear production to fall to a 30-year low and have forced France to import electricity to meet its needs even before the winter period.
(Report Benjamin Mallet; edited by Elizabeth Pineau)
