EDF Swings Back to Profit as French Nuclear Power Output Rebounds - Bloomberg
EDF Swung Back to Profit in 2023 as French Nuclear Power Output Rebounded - Bloomberg
EDF Swings Back to Profit as French Nuclear Power Output Rebounds
- Net financial debt fell by €10.1 billion from a year earlier
- Utility under pressure due to rising cost of reactor projects
Electricite de France SA swung back to profit last year after a record loss in 2022 as the state-owned company benefited from rebounding nuclear output and higher power prices.
The dramatic reversal provides some relief for the debt-laden utility. The company needs to cope with the ballooning cost of its Hinkley Point C nuclear project in the UK, and the prospect of soaring capital expenditure to build new atomic plants in France.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.