Paris (dpa) - French energy giant EDF has taken 12 of its 56 nuclear power plants in France offline over safety concerns that they many have been damaged by corrosion, the company announced on Thursday.
EDF also confirmed it had lowered its electricity production target for the current year and now expects to produce 280 to 300 terawatt hours, instead of 295 to 315, it added.
In addition to some power plants being taken off the grid for unscheduled inspections, others are already not supplying electricity due to routine overhauls.
According to newspaper Le Monde, 29 plants are out of action in total and the total amount of electricity being produced is at its lowest level since 1999.
No further power plants will be taken off the grid for checks this year, EDF added, saying it was working at full speed to repair any damage it detected.
Issues around its nuclear power generation are hitting France at a bad time, as due to sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, the availability of natural gas is already lower than usual.
The situation has already led to the postponement of the scheduled closure of the penultimate coal-fired power plant in the Lorraine region.
President Emmanuel Macron announced in February that France would build at least six and as many as eight more nuclear power plants.
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