The new heatwave in France is curbing nuclear power generation in Europe’s biggest nuclear electricity supplier and leading to spiking day-ahead power prices.
France’s day-ahead power prices soared by as much as 21.8% to $164.39 (142.5 euros) per megawatt hour (MWh) on Tuesday morning local time, per LSEG data cited by Reuters, as nuclear power generation is expected to be curbed at the mid-day peak on Wednesday.
Data by nuclear power plants operator EDF showed that France would see its nuclear generation cut by 7.3 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday, equal to 12% of the total capacity, amid this week’s heatwave which is at least the fifth extremely hot wave to grip the country since June.
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Power prices in France, where nuclear energy accounts for about 70% of the electricity mix, are now being pressured upwards by reduced nuclear output as water levels in rivers used for cooling reactors are low and/or very warm.
Additional upward pressure comes from the increase in power consumption during these heatwaves.
France has already had to resort to curbing nuclear power generation amid the prolonged and intense heatwaves this summer.
In the middle of last month, France’s nuclear power generation was slashed by 6.4 GW amid a prolonged and intense heatwave that hiked river temperatures and limited the ability of the power plants to use the water to cool reactors.
The heatwaves have also affected nuclear power output in central and eastern Europe, where Hungary and Romania this month were forced to shut down reactors at their respective only nuclear power plants, due to the lowest water level of the Danube river in 90 years.
Hungary saw one of the turbines at the Paks nuclear resume electricity production on Monday as the Danube water level inched up thanks to rainfall in Austria.
Romania, for its part, last week blasted a rock formation and sank barges filled with rocks to deviate the Danube’s flow and secure enough water for cooling the reactors of its only nuclear power plant at Cernavoda.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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