Electricity prices jump in Europe as demands soars in the heatwave

The Eiffel Tower shut early on Tuesday because of the extreme heat across France. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The Eiffel Tower shut early on Tuesday because of the extreme heat across France. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Electricity prices jump in Europe as demands soars in the heatwave Great Britain has paid at least six times normal for imported power as millions turn on air conditioning and windfarms’ output sags The heatwave has prompted a sharp rise in electricity prices across European markets as millions turn to air conditioners and electric fans to battle record high temperatures, which have also caused a string of power plant outages across the continent. Great Britain imported electricity from Europe at more than six times the normal price on Tuesday as the high pressure heat dome has slowed wind speeds, hitting renewable energy generation, and caused outages at multiple gas plants across the country. The heatwave has caused windfarms on the continent to slow, and led to lower output at some nuclear plants in France, where high riverwater temperatures are making it more difficult to cool the reactors. The combination of rising electricity demand and falling generation across Europe has caused market prices to climb to multi-year highs. Great Britain’s energy system operator has resorted to paying about £470 per megawatt-hour to secure electricity imports from the continent between 5pm and 7pm on Tuesday evening to help meet the country’s peak electricity demand. Hundreds of schools in England and Wales to close in heatwave Read more These prices are more than six times the electricity market price in June last year, which averaged about £71/MWh, and more than three times the market price of £123/MWh on Monday. In Germany, Europe’s biggest electricity market, power market prices were forecast to reach highs of more than €545 per megawatt-hour on Tuesday evening, the highest since June 2024, according to the Epex Spot exchange. In France, which is bracing for temperatures of up to 43C (109F) this week, the power market price has climbed to over €268 per megawatt-hour, the highest since August 2023. Shivam Malhotra, the head of power trading at consultancy LCP Delta, said it was “not unusual” to see a string of unplanned outages at British gas plants, which “tend to really struggle in extreme temperatures”. Deadly heatwave grips Europe with record high temperatures - The Latest Read more Five gas plants reported that they would need to reduce their output due to “ambient” conditions, cutting about 2.5 gigawatts from the UK’s gas fleet or enough electricity to power 2.5m UK homes. The loss of capacity is about 40% higher than before the heatwave, according to Malhotra. Wind power output has also fallen due to the high pressure weather system, which has slowed wind speeds and is expected to set a new record for June temperatures in the UK. Wind power made up between 13% and 15% of the UK’s electricity on Tue