EDF shares soar on hopes for restructuring deal
EDF shares shot up by more than five per cent this morning following reports that Paris and Brussels were nearing a deal to restructure the energy group by the end of next month.
Negotiations over how to separate EDF’s nuclear arm and to fix its energy prices for third parties have dragged on for months, with both sides initially targeting a March deadline.
France is keen to pass any reform of EDF as soon as possible before the parliamentary calendar gets too busy later in the year.
Le Figaro newspaper today reported that the European Commission and the French government had agreed on the need to move quickly.
The newspaper added that the fixed price at which EDF sells on nuclear power would be set at €49 per MWh hour, up from €42 currently.
Unions including the CGT, which met with the government in recent days, have cited the same price.
Talks between the French government and unions, which are fiercely opposed to the restructuring, are to continue next week.
The reform needs the green light from Brussels over possible state aid issues and whether the funding mechanism for EDF’s nuclear arm is ring-fenced from the rest of the business.