EDF

Électricité de France (EDF) is France's majority state-owned electric utility and the world's largest nuclear power operator. For 2026, EDF has set a nuclear production target of 350-370 TWh, broadly in line with the 2025 outturn and representing a recovery from the low-production years of 2022-23 caused by corrosion-related outages. French nuclear output feeds directly into European wholesale electricity prices: on 13 April 2026, French day-ahead power was EUR 96/MWh against EUR 133 in Italy and EUR 29 in Spain, illustrating nuclear's role as the dominant price-suppressing force in the French market.

A Major constraint on EDF's 2026 output is the planned one-year overhaul of Flamanville-3, France's only EPR reactor, scheduled to Begin in September 2026. The overhaul is expected to take approximately twelve months, meaning Flamanville-3 will contribute minimal generation through most of 2026. EDF must offset this from its fleet of 56 older reactors.

EDF is also central to France's VNU mechanism (variable nuclear unit price), under which the CRE-estimated average sale price for regulated nuclear output is EUR 65.90/MWh in 2026. The mechanism replaced the previous ARENH scheme and is designed to give large industrial consumers and suppliers access to French nuclear production at below-market prices, directly affecting how chemical companies and manufacturers in France model their energy costs.