Low French nuclear supply to cost EDF 1 bln euros

PARIS Nov 13 (Reuters) - The drop in French nuclear availability will cost EDF (EDF.PA) one billion euros ($1.49 billion) and availability in 2009 should fall by one percentage point on the previous year to 78 percent, EDF said on Friday.

France, which relies on nuclear power for 80 percent of its electricity, has seen its nuclear availability at record lows in the past few months because of strikes in the spring which delayed maintenance and a high number of unplanned outages.

"Around half of that sum is related to the strikes," an EDF spokesman told Reuters by telephone.

According to a Reuters estimate 16 reactors are currently stopped for planned or unplanned outages, bringing the offline capacity to 17,200 megawatts or 27 percent of France's nuclear production capacity.

EDF's target to raise its nuclear availability to 85 percent by 2011 has now been delayed to a more distant future, the spokesman said, adding EDF would give new targets at the start of 2010.

France's nuclear avilability is lower than those seen in the United States or in Belgium, which average around 90 percent.

EDF's nuclear production is set to fall by 6.6 percent this year to 390 terawatt hours, French newspaper daily Les Echos said. (Reporting by Muriel Boselli)