Yesterday was one of the coldest days in the UK in a long time, and that was painfully evident in the energy supply of power companies, whose electricity grids have come under significant strain. This should continue as temperatures remain below average.
Temperatures in France, Germany and the Nordic countries are also low, which means that heat demand is high. Even with price caps, consumers have to pay a lot to heat their homes. And even there a change doesn’t necessarily seem obvious: “This week will be dominated by high prices,” said analyst Fabian Ronningen of energy company Rystad AS. “The peak may have been reached in the UK, but France and Germany may still face higher prices.”
1000 euros per megawatt hour
While energy prices in France fluctuated around 835 euros per megawatt hour this afternoon, Germany reached 1,000 euros per megawatt hour. To cope with high energy prices – in the future – France wants to focus again on the production of nuclear energy. Especially since most of the heating elements in France work with electricity.
The Électricité de France SA plants have the capacity to power two-thirds of France and today produce 41 gigawatts of energy alone. So that number has to go up. “We hope to reach 45 gigawatts in January, because that would give us more breathing space,” said Emmanuelle Wargon, president of the French energy regulator. “We’re still restarting three reactors, so 45 gigawatts should be feasible.”