PARIS (Reuters) - France's national grid operator RTE warned on Tuesday that prolonged strikes delaying the restart of some reactors at nuclear power group EDF (EPA:EDF) could have "heavy consequences" for the country's electricity supplies over the coming winter.
RTE cut its forecast range for power availability for this month and the first half of November based on the blockade at some of EDF's reactors so far, compared to a previous report it released in September.
RTE is still maintaining its expectation that France's nuclear power production will rise to between 40 and 45 gigawatt (GW) in December and January from 25-30 GW at the end of October.
But it noted that the strikes, which have delayed the planned restart of some reactors from two to three weeks, already raised a question mark on power availability for the month of November.
"A prolonged social movement would have heavy consequences for the key part of the winter," it said.
RTE added however, that the electricity consumption in France, adjusted for weather conditions, had fallen by 3-4% in September compared to the first six months of the year, due to a slowdown in economic activity and soaring energy prices which have forced some businesses to shut down or delay production.