Nuclear power generation at EDF's French reactors in March rose 16.6% or 4.3 TWh year on year to 29.9 terawatt-hours (TWh), the utility said in an online statement.

EDF's website said that France's total nuclear generation in the first three months of 2024 rose 13.4% from the same period a year earlier, to 96.6 TWh, due to optimisation and control of the maintenance schedule for reactors at risk of stress corrosion.

The same factors also boosted nuclear production in January and February.

The French utility's March nuclear power output in Britain fell 9.1% year on year to 2.7 TWh, with cumulative production in the first quarter down 15.6% at 7.6 TWh due to unplanned outages of Heysham 1 and Hartlepool at the beginning of the year. (Reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)