(Jan 14): Electricite de France SA (EDF) must not take on new nuclear developments, either at home or in the UK, until it’s better prepared to make a success of the multibillion-dollar projects, a French state auditor said.

President Emmanuel Macron wants EDF to build at least six new reactors in France, but the company and its suppliers are far from ready to do so, the Cour des Comptes said in non-binding recommendations published on Tuesday.

France and Britain are counting on atomic power to help meet net zero targets. Yet long delays and cost overruns at EDF projects in both countries have caused its debt to balloon and complicated efforts to get new developments underway. Meanwhile, US and Korean competitors have made inroads in European markets.

EDF must ensure that any new nuclear project abroad will be profitable and won’t delay France’s new-build programme, the auditor said. 

The state-owned utility is a minority investor in Britain’s Sizewell C reactor site, where talks over funding have dragged on for years. It mustn’t greenlight that project before first slashing its financial exposure to two other atomic units under construction in southwest England, the auditor said.

With regard to the six planned reactors in France, a final investment decision should be made only once their design is well advanced and funding finalised, the Cour des Comptes said. The estimated bill for construction, excluding financing costs, has swelled to almost €80 billion (RM368.4 billion) when accounting for inflation, it said.

EDF recently connected a new reactor — Flamanville-3 — to the French grid, bringing it online 12 years behind schedule after a series of missteps. Following the start of construction in 2007, its budget soared, and the plant will provide only a “mediocre” return for the company, the auditor said.

In response to the report, EDF said any new projects at home or abroad will benefit from economies of scale in construction, a Europe-wide supply chain, and lessons learned from ventures in France, the UK, Finland and China. The company won’t hold more than 20% of the Sizewell development, and will limit its role to that of technology provider in future international projects, it said.

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