EDF : Temporary shutdown of the four generation units of the Tricastin nuclear power plant
September 28 2017 - 7:18AM
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PRESS RELEASE
28 September 2017 |
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Temporary
shutdown of the four generation units of the Tricastin nuclear
power plant
EDF takes note of the decision
taken by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) on 28 September
2017 requesting that EDF temporarily shut down the four generation
units of the Tricastin nuclear power plant (Drôme, France), while
strengthening work is carried out on a small section of the dyke
located to the north of the power plant bordering the
Donzère-Mondragon canal.
As an operator that takes
responsibility for the safety of its installations, EDF does not
share the view that the four reactors need to be shut down for the
duration of the work. EDF will nevertheless implement the ASN
decision without undue delay.
The geotechnical surveys carried
out on this dyke in 2015 and 2016, supplementing those performed in
2013 and 2014, revealed that a small section of the dyke required
reinforcement. EDF has however demonstrated to the ASN that the
dyke is capable of withstanding an earthquake known as a "Maximum
Historically Probable Earthquake" (MHPE). This is an earthquake
that is more severe than the historical earthquakes observed in the
vicinity of the power plant, located in the most damaging position
for the installations.
On the basis of the analyses and
calculations performed it was not possible to unequivocally
demonstrate the robustness of the dyke in the event of an
earthquake known as a "Safe Shutdown Earthquake", a hypothetical
earthquake releasing energy five times greater than that of an
MHPE. On 18 August 2017, EDF therefore declared a "significant
safety event" at level 1 on the INES scale (the 8-level
International Nuclear Events Scale).
EDF submitted a two-phase reactive
action plan to the ASN:
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Within one
month, dyke strengthening work will be carried out in order to
guarantee its resistance in a Safe Shutdown Earthquake
situation
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Ahead of
this strengthening work, additional protection is currently being
installed on the existing peripheral protective wall and will be
operational within a few days. This measure ensures that no water
would reach the reactors in the event of a Safe Shutdown Earthquake
during the work period.
Given these arrangements, EDF is
convinced that the safety of the installations is guaranteed and
considers the reactors' shutdown unjustified.
The shutdown of the reactors required by the ASN
has led the Group to revise its nuclear generation target for the
year 2017 to 385-392 TWh, depending on the actual duration of
reactors' shutdown, compared with a previous target of
390-400 TWh.
The EDF Group confirms its 2017 and 2018 financial
targets in the current price environment.
A key player in energy transition,
the EDF Group is an integrated electricity company, active in all
areas of the business: generation, transmission, distribution,
energy supply and trading, energy services. A global leader in
low-carbon energies, the Group has developed a diversified
generation mix based on nuclear power, hydropower, new renewable
energies and thermal energy. The Group is involved in supplying
energy and services to approximately 37.1 million customers, of
which 26.2 million in France. The Group generated consolidated
sales of €71 billion in 2016. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock
Exchange.
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PR Tricastin temporary
shutdown
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Source: EDF via Globenewswire