France’s electricity sector has been hit again by ongoing strikes – #Frances #electricity #sector #hit #ongoing #strikes
PARIS, March 23 (Reuters) – French oil refineries, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, power supply and reactor maintenance on Thursday, the government’s industrial action mandatory pension It was extended to the 16th day with the continuation of protests against the reform of the plan.
Action, pension including increasing the age by two years to 64, pension is part of a nationwide movement against changes in the President Emmanuel Macron said he was trying to take this step to start other reforms.
Operator Fluxys ( FLUX.BR ) said in an online bulletin that the Dunkirk liquefied natural gas in northern France on Thursday gas A state of force majeure was declared at the (LNG) terminal after operations were suspended as a result of the strike.
The strike is expected to last until early Friday, capping delivery capacity at the site to 70 gigawatt-hours per day (GWh/d), the bulletin said.
A union source said a general meeting with workers would be held at noon on Friday to decide whether to resume the strike.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Energy said that on the processing side, France government Fos Gas Fos-sur-Mer fuel depot, managed by DPF, has updated the requisition order for workers.
A requisition order has also been prepared for TotalEnergies’ Gonfreville site in northern France, the largest oil refinery in the country, but no official notification has been issued at this stage, the spokesman added.
Gonfreville was closed Tuesday due to the strike, leaving storage tanks close to full, a spokeswoman said.
Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said: “I say this vehemently: if strike is a fundamental constitutional right, blocking (infrastructure) is not.”
Trade unions said they will continue their protests.
“We have no choice but to go on strike and block the economy until Macron surrenders and withdraws his project,” said Fabrice Criquet, general secretary of the FO-ADP union.
About 37% of TotalEnergies’ ( TTEF.PA ) operating staff went on strike Thursday morning, a company spokesman said, halting operations at several refineries and storage facilities.
Repairs to eleven nuclear reactors have been blocked, a CGT union official said. This includes the Penly 1 reactor, which was found to have new stress corrosion cracking earlier this month. Breaks in the repair have been going on for 11 days.
Energy availability in France’s nuclear, thermal and hydroelectric power plants has fallen by 21 gigawatts (GW), a Union representative said.
Reporting by Forrest Crell, Lucien Libert and Marc Leras; Edited by Mark Potter, Kirsten Donovan
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2023-03-23 17:32:10
Source – reuters
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