EDF authorised use of current Flamanville EPR vessel closure head for now - regulator

Electricite de France SA

19/05/2023 10:14

PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) - France's ASN nuclear safety
regulator said on Friday it had authorised French power group
EDF  EDF.PA  to use the current nuclear vessel closure head at
the Flamanville EPR nuclear reactor until the first shutdown for
refueling.
    But, in a statement, it added that, if the Flamanville
project is delayed again further, EDF should re-examine the
possibility of replacing the cover before the reactor is
launched.
    The Flamanville EPR reactor - planned as a showcase of the
company's next generation of nuclear plants - is running a
decade behind schedule. It is currently expected to start
operations in the first quarter of 2024.
    Framatome, a unit of EDF, has asked for more time to change
the vessel closure head at the reactor as the ASN's initial
planning to have it replaced by the end of 2024 would have meant
to halt the plant only a few month after its long-awaited
launch. 
    

 (Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Tassilo
Hummel)
 ((benoit.vanoverstraeten@thomsonreuters.com; +33149495339;))