Électricité de France
French multinational electric utility company
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| July 2025 | French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority approved EDF's continued operation of 1300 MWe reactors beyond their initial 40-year lifespan. |
| March 2025 | The Nuclear Policy Council agreed to provide a subsidised government loan covering at least half the build cost of six EPR2 reactors, with a Contract for Difference set at no more than €100 per MWh. The first three double EPR2 reactors are proposed for Penly, Gravelines, and Bugey sites, with construction planned to start in 2027. |
| January 2025 | EDF announced the Nuward SMR conceptual design would be completed by mid-2026, with plans to bring the reactor to market in the 2030s, targeting an output of approximately 400 MWe and 100 MWt usable heat output. |
| 2024 | The French government was considering providing EDF with interest-free reactor development loans and a long-term electricity price guarantee to support future EPR2 builds. |
| July 2024 | EDF announced discontinuation of the existing Nuward SMR design, deciding to develop a new design based on existing technologies after discussions with potential customers. |
| May 2024 | EDF secured a €5.8 billion loan over 3-5 years to finance life extension of 900 MWe reactors by 10 years beyond their original 40-year lifespan, under the company's Green Financing Framework. |
| May 31 2024 | Completed acquisition of GE Power's nuclear business, which was subsequently renamed Arabelle Solutions. |
| April 2024 | EDF reorganized its nuclear business in preparation for planned government investment to construct six new EPR2 reactors scheduled to operate from 2035. |
| February 2024 | EDF took a €12.9 billion impairment charge on Hinkley Point C nuclear power station cost overruns, with an additional €1.1 billion charge for inflation. |
| 2023 | France renewed a nuclear cooperation agreement with China and EDF renewed its partnership contract with China General Nuclear Power Group. |
| June 2023 | Estimated cost of electricity market purchases and reactor issues reached approximately €29 billion by this date, with continued production shortfalls. |
| June 2023 | EDF announced the start of the authorization process to build two EPR 2 reactors at the Penly Nuclear Power Plant, with site preparatory work anticipated to begin in summer 2024 and construction planned to start around 2027. |
| June 8 2023 | French government completes full renationalization of EDF, estimating the cost at €5 billion, in response to decades of under-investment and the 2021-2022 global energy crisis. |
| June 8 2023 | French government completes full renationalization of EDF, estimated to cost €5 billion. |
| March 2023 | EDF created the Nuward subsidiary to design and manufacture a small modular reactor (SMR), with planned construction from 2030. |
| 2022 | Electricity production reduced to 279 TWh, 82 TWh less than expected, necessitating electricity purchases from the European market at high prices. |
| November 2022 | EDF agreed to acquire GE Steam Power's nuclear activities, including manufacturing non-nuclear equipment for nuclear power plants and maintenance of existing nuclear facilities outside America. |
| September 3 2022 | Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher announced EDF's commitment to restart all reactors for the coming winter amid energy uncertainties from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. |
| July 2022 | French government announced plans to fully nationalize EDF. |
| July 6 2022 | French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the government's aim for full nationalization of EDF, emphasizing the need to ensure energy sovereignty and control over electricity production. |
| May 2022 | EDF reported twelve reactors shut down for stress corrosion inspection, adjusting the nuclear output estimate for 2022 to 280-300 TWh, with an estimated EBITDA impact of -€18.5 billion. |
| February 2022 | EDF's credit rating was downgraded. |
| February 2022 | President Macron announced a plan to construct 14 new large nuclear reactors and extend the life of existing reactors beyond 50 years. |
| February 21 2022 | S&P Global Ratings and Moody's downgraded EDF's credit rating due to technical issues at nuclear power plants. |
| January 2022 | EDF calculated that the reduced price wholesale power supply would cost the company €8.4 billion (£7 billion), leading to the withdrawal of its profit guidance and a considerable drop in its share price. |
| 2021 | During the global energy crisis, EDF was required to sell 20 TWh of power to other domestic suppliers at a reduced price, which significantly impacted the company's financial performance. |
| 2021 | France exported 21.5 TWh of electricity to its neighbours in the second half of the year. |
| 2021 | Continued low fleet availability of around 72% for nuclear power plants, suggesting ongoing operational challenges. |
| 2021 | Serious stress corrosion cracking was discovered in the stainless steel safety system piping, requiring shutdowns for inspections and repairs. |
| December 2021 | EDF had approximately €43 billion of debt, with investment analysts predicting it would exceed €60 billion by the end of 2022. |
| December 2021 | France relied on electricity imports from Spain and Belgium due to cold weather and multiple nuclear plant outages. |
| October 2021 | President Macron announced plans for France to become a leader in low-carbon energy production using small modular reactors and green hydrogen. |
| February 2021 | Regulatory body ASN approved EDF's Grand Carénage programme, a €49.4 billion plan to life-extend nearly all French power reactors from 40 to 50 years. |
| 2020 | EDF targeted €500 million in cost savings by 2022 and planned to sell €3 billion of assets by 2022 to mitigate pandemic economic impacts. |
| 2020 | EDF withdrew financial targets for 2020 and 2021, and potentially delayed planned 10-year reactor upgrades. |
| 2020 | France's nuclear fleet availability began averaging approximately 72%, indicating a decline in operational efficiency of nuclear power plants. |
| 2020 | The French government announced plans to modify the wholesale nuclear power market, proposing a 'price corridor' to help EDF cover its costs and prevent price volatility. |
| June 2020 | France had 56 operable nuclear reactors totaling 61,370 MWe, with one reactor under construction and 14 shut down or in decommissioning. |
| June 2020 | Fessenheim nuclear power plant was finally closed, after previous delays in its planned shutdown. |
| April 2020 | EDF estimated the coronavirus pandemic could reduce electricity consumption in France by 20%, projecting annual nuclear output of 300 TWh for 2020 and 330-360 TWh for 2021-2022, down from the pre-pandemic estimate of 375-390 TWh. |
| 2019 | Nuclear power generated 379.5 TWh of electricity in France, representing the largest source of electricity in the country. |
| October 2019 | French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire released an audit report criticizing the Flamanville 3 EPR project as a management and skills failure, demanding an action plan from EDF. |
| September 2019 | France abandoned work on the advanced ASTRID reactor design, marking the end of sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor technology development efforts. |
| 2018 | EDF announced plans to invest up to €25 billion in photovoltaics solar power generation and introduce green electricity tariffs, signaling a major strategic commitment to renewable energy development. |
| November 2018 | President Macron delayed the 50% nuclear power reduction target to 2035 and announced plans to close fourteen 900 MWe reactors. |
| July 2018 | EDF further delayed fuel loading for the Flamanville 3 EPR project to Q4 2019 and increased project cost estimate by €400 million. |
| January 2018 | French Energy Minister Nicolas Hulot indicated that building a New Model EPR was not a priority, with the focus instead on developing renewable energy and reducing nuclear energy's share. |
| 2017 | EDF took over the majority of Areva's reactor business in a French government-sponsored restructuring, following financial and technical problems with new EPR nuclear plant construction. The acquired reactor business was renamed Framatome. |
| 2017 | Initial announcement of potential closure of 17 French nuclear power reactors by 2025. |
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