2023-06-08 19:39:00
French Minister of Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security, Bruno Le Maire, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France
PARIS (Archyde.com) – France will not give up the competitive advantages linked to its nuclear fleet as part of an ongoing reform of the European electricity market which it wants to see completed by the end of the year, said Thursday the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire.
Tensions between France, Spain and Germany over nuclear power have complicated the reform project in recent months, initiated once morest a backdrop of the European energy crisis linked to the war in Ukraine.
“Nuclear power is an absolute red line for France. And France will not give up any of its competitive advantages linked to nuclear energy,” Bruno Le Maire told a conference of the French Electricity Union. (UFE).
“Anyone who thinks they might roll back France on nuclear power by any means is gravely mistaken, we will never give in on France’s independence,” he added.
“Everyone must respect the sovereign choices of each nation in terms of the energy mix. Germany has indicated that it will respect the French choices in terms of energy. This is good news. We have always respected the German choices. would not occur to me (…) to go and criticize the energy choices of such and such a nation.”
“Our French companies are entitled to pay the fair price, i.e. a stable price, a price close to the cost of national electricity production and a price which guarantees the competitiveness of national industry in the face of European competition. and in the face of international competition”, also said Bruno Le Maire.
The minister specified that the government wanted to see the European project completed before the end of the year and that, according to France, it should allow consumers to pay prices “close to the production costs of national mixes” and not not favor or disadvantage any particular means of production.
He cited the same deadline of the end of 2023 to present a new regulatory framework for electricity in France, which should guarantee “the fairest price possible” to allow both “to protect consumers”, guarantee industry “a comparative advantage” and finance the development of the electricity system.
The regulations in force known as Arenh (regulated access to historical nuclear electricity), which allows EDF’s competitors to buy volumes of nuclear electricity from it at a preferential price and which the heavily indebted group emphasizes weighs down its accounts, will expire at the end of 2025.
As manufacturers will begin to cover their electricity needs two years in advance at the start of 2024, the need to provide them with visibility – as well as electricity suppliers – on the evolution of prices following the end of the Arenh becomes however more and more urgent.
(Report Benjamin Mallet, edited by Tangi Salaün)
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