- French President repeats call for new nuclear builds
- Macron also pledges to reduce France’s dependence on gas, oil
Bloomberg News
PARIS
EnergiesNet.com 03 18 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron said the state will need to take control of some firms in the energy sector in a plan to bolster the country’s independence.
The French leader did not name any companies and said the moves would be part of a strategy that would include delivering on his government’s campaign to overhaul energy markets to decouple electricity and gas prices.
“The state will need to take in hand several aspects of the energy sector,” Macron said on Thursday, as he laid out his manifesto just three weeks before the presidential election. “We will need to take ownership of several industrial players.”
Bloomberg reported earlier citing people familiar with the matter that France’s government, which owns of 84% Electricite de France SA, is considering whether to revive a plan to nationalize the debt-laden utility and reorganize its business with a focus on nuclear production.
Macron, who is projected to be re-elected next month by a wide margin in all opinion polls, reiterated that he’ll push for the construction of new atomic plants and large amounts of renewable energies as part of a drive to replace fossil fuels and make France carbon neutral by 2050.
The energy market chaos exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is giving fresh impetus to France’s long-mooted push to restructure its biggest power supplier, whose finances are crippled by an historic drop in the availability of its aging nuclear plants and government measures to cap electricity bills.
Last month, Macron pledged tens of billions of public financing to help EDF build as many as 14 new reactors by 2050 to replace some of its aging atomic plants. France will work with the European Commission to introduce new regulations for nuclear power to provide stable prices for French consumers and companies, Macron said in February.
“Fundamentally, on this subject I acknowledge having a will for economic planning, whether it’s a question of energy production or new industrial sectors.”
bloomberg.com 03 17 2022
