In 2022, the French power grid experienced a difficult year, generating a new 30-year low

Writer： Hengfeng you electric Time：2023-03-16 views：times

Lowest power generation since 1992
RTE said in a statement that due to the low nuclear and hydropower generation, the total electricity generation in France fell to the lowest level since 1992, when the number of French residents was 9 million less than today. Compared with 2021, this total output decreased by 15%.

For 50 years, France has relied on nuclear power plants to produce electricity. In 2022, only 62.7% of France's electricity came from nuclear energy, compared with 69% in 2021, which was more than 70% before.
Due to the corrosion of the nuclear reactor pipeline, EDF organized large-scale inspection and maintenance activities in 2022, disrupting the maintenance plan delayed by the epidemic. In 2022, at most half of France's 56 nuclear reactors will be shut down at the same time, which once threatened the power supply in winter.

Nuclear power output is the lowest since 1988

RTE said that the average availability of nuclear power units in 2022 was 54%, while the average availability in 2015-2019 was 73%.

Since the establishment of the nuclear reactor of the current scale in France in 1988, the power generation has never been so low: the output in 2022 was 279 TWh, far lower than 430 TWh in 2005. In addition, "due to unusually hot and dry weather conditions", France's hydropower production has also declined significantly. Therefore, compared with the average level in 2014-2019, the hydropower output decreased by 20%.

Warm winter helps save energy

The chairman of the RTE Management Committee, Xavier Piechaczyk, acknowledged that the energy crisis in France in 2022 was comparable to the oil crisis in the 1970s, but "France showed resilience and its supply was guaranteed".

France, like its European neighbors, was lucky to have a warm winter, and the heating equipment started late. Since October, the government has called for energy conservation, and individuals and companies have consciously reduced consumption. Therefore, France has avoided the dilemma of blackout in winter, and the import of electricity and the increase of nuclear power production in autumn have successfully filled the energy gap.

Compared to the historical average (2014-2019), energy consumption in France decreased by 4.2% in 2022, mainly in the last quarter.

It has become an electricity importer for the first time since 1980

Due to the larger decline in production than in consumption, France has had to compensate for demand by operating gas fired power stations and importing electricity from neighbouring countries, rather than exporting as before. According to RTE data, France, which is usually self-sufficient in nuclear power and can even be exported, will become a net importer of electricity in 2022, which is the first time since 1980.

Unlike its European neighbors, France does not use coal in large quantities to generate electricity, and coal accounts for only 0.6% of electricity production. "We can say that exiting coal power generation in France is almost successful," said Ma? T é Jaureguy-Naudin commented.

RTE also pointed out that "87% of the electricity produced in France in 2022 is carbon free, while this proportion is about 91% in 2014-2021". According to the analysis of Hengfengyou Electric MARTIN, due to the impact of the Russian-Uzbekistan war, the proportion of green energy investment in France will be higher in the future. In the future, France will certainly reduce the proportion of natural gas, coal and nuclear power generation, and increase the investment in solar energy, wind power, water conservancy and other clean energy. The good news for the electrical industry is to greatly promote the demand for solar panels, photovoltaic substations, wind power substations, distribution boxes, distribution boards and other equipment. Qingdao Hengfengyou Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd. is a large electrical manufacturer in China, specializing in the manufacturing and sales of new energy distribution equipment such as power transformers, distribution boards, transmission towers, solar substations, wind power substations, etc, It can provide users with the best power distribution solution.

Tips: Generally speaking, for each additional 1KW of power generation capacity, it is necessary to add a 10KVA transformer