The French government plans to introduce a “price corridor” for France’s wholesale nuclear power market that will enable state-controlled utility EDF to cover its costs while shielding consumers from volatile electricity price increases.

The government-proposed reform, set out in a consultative paper, would replace the ARENH nuclear market scheme under which EDF, which operates France’s commercial 58 nuclear reactors, is obliged to sell 100 TWh, or around a quarter of its annual nuclear output, to rivals at a fixed price of €42 per MWh.