Nuclear: the forecast cost of the six future EPRs will increase by 30%

Contacted by AFP, the EDF group and the Ministry of the Economy did not comment.

According to Les Echos, "this estimate includes the investment costs for carrying out engineering studies, equipment manufacturing and construction contracts on the site, provisions for risks, commissioning costs, spare parts spare parts or even long-term costs for dismantling.

The newspaper adds that "EDF puts forward two main reasons for this revision of its budget", firstly "the progression of engineering costs, the energy company having decided to take nine months longer than planned to finalize the generic plans of its remodeled EPR reactor".

The other reason is linked to “the increase in construction costs, which results from the first calls for tenders launched by EDF to anticipate the manufacture of certain critical parts or secure key contracts”. Les Echos affirms that "it is the cost of these construction contracts which weighs the most in the upward revision of the initial budget", which is added to "new provisions for risks and contingencies, to the tune of 5 billion euros".

A first estimate announced in February 2022 in a government report based on two external audits put the cost of this program at 51,7 billion euros excluding financing costs to which were added 4,6 billion in the event of difficulty in implementation. .

The costs of building reactors are often higher than expected, like the EDF sites at Flamanville in Normandy and Hinkley Point in England.

Before a Senate committee, Xavier Ursat, executive director of EDF, admitted on February 8 that the cost of EPRs would increase, without however revealing the exact amount, to the great dismay of the parliamentarians who were hearing him.

“We are currently in a phase of optimizing costs and planning,” EDF simply responded on Monday, regarding this new costing which could evolve.

The electrician explains having “launched a competitiveness plan” on the “purchasing program for the construction of the three pairs of EPR2 and the signing of the first contracts”.