Extent and consequences of French strike among electricity workers?

["Bjorn Cedervall" <bcradsafers@HOTMAIL.COM>]

I just made a follow up of Sandy's posting from June 13 which included news 

about the strike among French nuclear/electricity workers. Found the 

following from June 20:



"FRENCH ENERGY WORKERS THREATEN BLACKOUTS

French energy workers may trigger country-wide blackouts to bolster their 

more than month-long series of strikes against pension reforms and the 

privatization of state utilities, Reuters reported. For over a month, state 

energy workers have carried out intermittent power production reductions and 

strikes. Wholesale power prices in France, Europe’s top power exporter, have 

more than quadrupled for peak hours due to the ongoing labor actions. An 

action on May 13 led to the biggest strike-induced power output cuts in a 

decade—about 10% or 12,000 megawatts. That strike also resulted in exports 

being nearly halved to about 5,000 MW. But there have been no blackouts—last 

seen in France in in the 1980s—because the unions are fiercely protective of 

the French tradition of public service. Workers maintain that public service 

will be adversely affected by the sell-off of the state-owned Electricite de 

France and Gaz de France. In the sixth week of industrial action, energy 

workers plan to reduce power production from 6:00 a.m. on June 17 as part of 

a nationwide strike, and then will join transport workers and teachers in a 

national strike on June 19, according to an official from the CGT, France’s 

largest state utility union."

(Source: 

http://www.ibew1245.com/newsarchive-docs/Energy%20News%20Update%206-20-03.htm 

)



Questions:

Was this the maximum of the problem and is the strike still ongoing?

How much of this related to nuclear power plants?

Was there at any time import of electricity from other countries because of 

the strike (if so, how much and from where)?

Can I read about this at some good French site (where)?



I apologize for this not being about radiation but I assume that many 

Radsafers may be interested and some may also know more about this. If too 

much "energy response" - please email me directly. I am also interested if 

anyone could guide me to a good listserve system for "energy/electricity" 

just as we have for "radiation safety" - if there is such a forum these 

questions can of course be directed to a more relevant knowledge base.



Bjorn Cedervall         bcradsafers@hotmail.com

PS. It would be nice to meet you in Brisbane (ICRR, Aug. 17-22) if any of 

you are going there.



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