20161118_R4

Source: BBC Radio 4: Today

URL: N/A

Date: 18/11/2016

Event: France "facing the real prospect of power cuts, this winter"

Credit: BBC Radio 4

People:

• Peter Atherton: Associate at Cornwall Energy
• John Moylan: BBC's Industry and Employment Correspondent
• Nick Robinson: Presenter, BBC Radio 4: Today Programme
• Mycle Schneider: Paris-based nuclear energy consultant
• Phil Sheppard: Head of Network Strategy, National Grid

Nick Robinson: France is facing the real prospect of power cuts, this winter - the operator of its national power grid has warned that it may have to take exceptional measures, including paying firms that use lots of energy to switch off, and rolling blackouts, too. The country has long relied on nuclear energy to keep the lights on, but it's heading into the winter with around a third of its reactors offline for safety checks, due to technical problems. As our industry correspondent John Moylan explains, that could have consequences for us as well.

[Sound of a train.]

John Moylan: A high-speed train hurtles towards the Channel Tunnel. Thousands of people travel along this route every day, but here in Kent the tunnel isn't our only direct link to the Continent... I'm just outside the village of Sellindge, and in front of me is a huge pylon carrying electricity lines that seem to stretch off into the distance. Now, this place is less well-known, but arguably as important as the Channel Tunnel, because it's the UK end of a 43-mile power cable that connects Britain to France. The interconnector was built in the 1980s, in part to provide Britain with enough cheap French nuclear energy to power a million homes.

Mycle Schneider: France today generates about three quarters of its electricity by nuclear power plants - this is the highest level by far of any country in the world.

John Moylan: Mycle Schneider is a Paris-based nuclear industry expert. In recent months he's been following technical problems that have hit multiple French reactors, and which now threaten to lead to blackouts if France can't get enough power from its neighbours.

Mycle Schneider: These low numbers of reactors operating in France can lead to extraordinary and absolutely unprecedented measures of saving electricity - even going up to rolling blackouts - if, you know, massive imports of electricity turn out not sufficient.

John Moylan: These shortages have sent French wholesale electricity prices soaring - that's caused flows to the interconnector to reverse. In a typical month, the UK usually imports more power from France than we export back, but in October, for the first time in four years, we sent more power to France than they sent to us. Peter Atherton, an associate with industry experts Cornwall Energy, says there's been a knock-on effect on prices here, too.

Peter Atherton: So, in wholesale price terms, we are seeing an impact - we've seen an increase in volatility and some very high short-term prices. [If] this was to continue throughout the winter, then certainly bills for domestic customers would be impacted.

John Moylan: But could all of this also mean power shortages in Britain, too? That's a question for National Grid... From its secret control room, it balances supply and demand right across Britain. Pointing at huge screens, Grid's Director of Systems Operations Phil Sheppard shows me how power is flowing right across the country.

Phil Sheppard: At the moment, we've got around 36 gigawatts of demand on the system. We are exporting to France around 2 gigawatts...

John Moylan: Last week National Grid issued an alert, as margins between electricity supply and demand tightened. The lack of power from France was part of the problem. So, with winter coming, is Mr Sheppard confident of keeping the lights on?

Phil Sheppard: There may be reduced flows on occasions, across the French interconnector - wholesale prices may be a bit spiky, as a result of that. But as the system operator, we have lots of plans in place, we have lots of contingencies that we've thought through, and our role is to make sure the UK has the power it needs.

John Moylan: But long-time industry watcher Peter Atherton is less diplomatic. He says that as older coal plants have shut down, the spare capacity on the system is now at historically low levels.

Peter Atherton: Now we have a system where only we can probably afford two or three things to go wrong, and having the French interconnector not available is effectively one or two of those things going wrong. So, it doesn't mean that our lights are about to start flickering in the middle of winter, but what it does mean is that we've probably used up around a half of our safety margin. And, therefore, if other things now go wrong, then the safety margin really is going to be very thin.

Nick Robinson: Peter Atherton, ending that report from John Moylan.