French utility EDF has said that electricity generation at its 3600 MW Tricastin nuclear power plant could be restricted from October 27 due to the forecast flow rate of the Rhone river, from which it draws cooling water. The Tricastin plant in the southeast of France has four 900 MW reactors.
Low river levels and flow rate due to dry weather conditions have forced EDF to reduce power generation at several reactors over the past few weeks. EDF’s use of water from rivers as a coolant is regulated by law to protect plant and animal life.
EDF separately extended the outage at its 1500 MW Chooz 1 reactor until October 29. It said that the duration of the outage due to environmental issues would be reassessed according to the weather forecast.