Commodities
Home›Commodities›Energy›France heatwave curbs nuclear output, pushing power pr…
France heatwave curbs nuclear output, pushing power prices higher
France’s day-ahead power prices rose as much as 21.8% to $164.39 per megawatt hour Tuesday morning as EDF showed nuclear generation could be cut by 7.3 GW on Wednesday, or 12% of total capacity.
A new heatwave in France is cutting nuclear power generation and driving up European day-ahead electricity prices, with France’s biggest nuclear supplier expected to trim output around the mid-day peak on Wednesday.
OilPrice, citing LSEG data reported by Reuters, said France’s day-ahead power prices rose as much as 21.8% to $164.39, or 142.5 euros, per megawatt hour Tuesday morning local time.
EDF data indicated France would cut nuclear generation by 7.3 gigawatts on Wednesday, equal to 12% of total capacity, as the current heatwave is at least the fifth extremely hot wave to hit the country since June.
The report said nuclear output is being pressured because river water used to cool reactors is low and/or very warm, while heatwaves also lift electricity demand, and France has previously reduced nuclear generation earlier this summer due to similar cooling constraints.