French Power Slumps as Surging Renewables Push Out Atomic Plants
- Day-ahead prices turn negative, trading at a four-year low
- EDF halts three reactors, plans to take three more offline
Steam rises from the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant in Saint-Vulbas, France.
Photographer: Olivier Chassignole/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
French electricity prices turned negative as a drop in demand and surging renewables output prompted some nuclear reactors to power down.
Daily consumption from Thursday through Sunday is seen falling by an average 6 gigawatts, a Bloomberg model shows. Sunny and blustery weather has driven up solar and wind generation, prompting the grid operator to request that Electricite de France SA take several nuclear plants offline.