PARIS, Dec 9 Reuters France39;s statecontrolled utility EDF said on Friday three of its nuclear reactors were ramping up production after repairs, while a power outage tested nerves in Paris and cold weather added to the strain on supplies across Europe.

EDF is racing to get nuclear reactors back online following work to tackle corrosion problems as the whole of Europe struggles to cope with the impact on its energy supplies of the Ukraine war.

Compounding the impact of disrupted energy imports from Russia, a record number of outages at EDF39;s 56strong nuclear fleet has taken France39;s nuclear output to a 30year low, increasing the country39;s reliance on other country39;s depleted energy reserves.

The company said on its website on Friday its 1,300megawatt MW Cattenom 4 nuclear reactor, which needed stress corrosion repair work, was ramping up in stages, but would not be fully operational until Sunday longer than previously flagged.

The unit was running at 480 megawatts as of 0651 GMT, around a third of its total capacity.

Company data on Friday indicated EDF39;s Bugey 3 reactor, which also underwent maintenance, was starting up and running at 900 megawatts out of 910 as of 0542 GMT. A third reactor, Cruas 2, was also coming back online.

Later on Friday, EDF Chief Executive Luc Remont and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire are due to hold a news conference at a nuclear site.

France39;s nuclear fleet will likely reach an available production capacity of 40…