Optimal production allocation of load-following nuclear units in an electricity market in the early stages of competition

International audience; Electricity systems are quitting monopoly for an operation framed by competitive markets. It therefore questions how the operation of nuclear plants capable of load-following is expected to change at the transition stage in a challenging economic environment for nuclear producers given the high penetration of renewables and the increase of nuclear production costs for renovation and safety reasons. To answer this question, we are focusing on a month-by-month management horizon of the nuclear fuel given the technico-economical features of the operation of flexible nuclear plants. The resolution of the month-by-month profit maximization problem contributes to identify potential difficulties and limits of production optimization and provides us with an equilibrium which proves the existence of an optimal production path. This benchmark could serve as a reference providing valuable insight on the resolution of more complex optimisation problems.