ECIFF - French power prices push higher as EDF delays start of two reactors

French utility EDF ( OTCPK:ECIFF ) said prolonged maintenance will delay the start of two nuclear reactors until February, ahead of an oncoming cold snap in western Europe, pushing French power prices up as much as 4%.

The Chooz-1 unit is now due to start on February 28, a month later than planned, while the Blayais-1 reactor was delayed by 10 days to February 11.

Additionally, EDF's ( OTCPK:ECIFF ) Cordemais coal-fired plant stopped as workers went on strike to protect jobs.

French nuclear production last year was ravaged by outages, reducing full-year output by 22.7% to 279 TWh; EDF said it currently has 44 reactors in operation and 12 that are being halted for maintenance.

The prolonged outages will set back the recovery of France's nuclear capacity, which is the backbone of Europe's integrated power system.

For further details see: