France has connected a new nuclear reactor to the country's power grid for the first time in 25 years

French energy company EDF has connected the new Flamanville 3 nuclear power unit located at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in northern France to the country's power grid for the first time in 25 years. This is stated in a statement published on December 21 on the company's website.

"EDF teams made the first connection of EPR at Flamanville nuclear power plant to the national power grid on December 21, 2024 at 11:48 (13:48 Moscow time). The reactor started producing the first electrons," the report said.

EDF CEO Luc Remon called the connection of the reactor to the power grid a historic event. He also noted that Flamanville 3 will become the world's fourth operating EPR reactor along with the three already operating in China and Finland. His words are quoted by the press service of EDF.

According to the Financial Post, France is connecting the first new nuclear unit to the power grid for the first time in 25 years.

"The so-called European pressurized reactor, which is more powerful than the company's older units, is put into operation 12 years behind schedule due to a number of errors. Since construction began in 2007, its budget - excluding financing costs - has quadrupled," the material said." the material said.

November 27, Bloomberg reported that Europe is expected to experience the coldest winter since the refusal of European countries from gas from Russia, which will raise energy prices.

Before that, in October, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said at a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum that Europe's policy on the gas market could lead to a new gas price shock and supply disruptions.

Europe has repeatedly pointed out the difficulties in the gas sector. For example, on August 13, the Austrian Energy Ministry warned that "huge risks" await the country if Russia completely stops supplying its gas to the European Union (EU).

Despite the fact that gas from Russia is in demand on the European market, some Western countries decided to reduce their dependence on energy resources against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced on February 24, 2022. However, after that, the energy crisis worsened in many EU countries.