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France's EDF intends to repair reactor deterioration problems by end of 2025, executive says

France's nuclear power giant EDF will likely be coming to grips with some problems linked to tension rust at some of its reactors up until completion of next year, a. senior business executive informed a parliamentary hearing on. Thursday.

Cedric Lewandowski, in charge of EDF's nuclear energy. operations, told the French Senate the corrosion problems will. continue to weigh on EDF's output - in line with previous. assistance provided by the company.

EDF is enhancing its performance and is returning up the. ramp, but the ramp stays quite steep, said Lewandowski,. including ongoing works to repair the stress rust are. accelerating as staffers have gained an practically complete. understanding of the problem.

While EDF typically has a number of its reactors offline for. maintenance, it has had much more than typical because 2022 due to. what is known as tension deterioration that triggers cracks on the. welding linking pipes in some plants.

French nuclear generation dropped to its least expensive levels considering that. the late 1980s in 2022 to 279 terrawatt hours (TWh) due to the. corrosion problems that took a large portion of its reactor fleet. offline, coming simply as numerous conventional upkeep. operations were likewise set up.

EDF's output began getting in 2023, at a level of. 320 TWh.

I hope we'll do better, obviously, in 2024, and that we'll. reach 350 TWh in 2025, the executive said.

In February, EDF validated its French nuclear production. targets, varying from 315 to 345 TWh in 2024 and 335 to 365 TWh. in 2025 and 2026.