EDF has also reduced or plans to reduce output at four other reactors: Bugey 3, Tricastin 4 and Saint-Alban 1 and 2.
France operates 57 nuclear reactors, which generate approximately 70 percent of the country’s electricity.
Nuclear power plants are generally located near rivers or the sea because they require large quantities of water for cooling. During droughts and heatwaves, lower river flows and rising water temperatures may force EDF to limit or suspend production.
The restrictions are intended to protect aquatic ecosystems by preventing plants from further warming rivers with discharged cooling water or releasing certain chemical and radioactive effluents when water levels are low.
The Ardennes and Moselle departments were placed under a yellow heat wave warning on Monday as extreme temperatures continued to affect parts of the country.
