---
title: "The cold wave drives a surge in electricity demand, and France's nuclear power generation reaches a seven-year high"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/271247241.md"
description: "Severe cold weather is testing France's electricity system. With demand surging, French nuclear reactors are operating at nearly full capacity. The day-ahead electricity price for delivery in France on Wednesday was €89.07 per megawatt-hour. This price is higher than the corresponding electricity price in Germany, which is an unusual phenomenon in the European electricity market"
datetime: "2025-12-31T21:44:56.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/271247241.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/271247241.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/271247241.md)
---

# The cold wave drives a surge in electricity demand, and France's nuclear power generation reaches a seven-year high

Due to the cold wave increasing electricity demand, the power generation of France's nuclear power units has risen to its highest level in nearly seven years.

As of 10 a.m. Paris time on Wednesday, the total power generation capacity of France's nuclear reactors exceeded 56 million kilowatts (56 gigawatts), the highest level since January 2019. On Wednesday, France's electricity demand rose to 75 million kilowatts (75 gigawatts), the highest since February of this year.

The severe cold weather is testing France's power system. With demand surging, nuclear reactors are operating at nearly full capacity. Weather forecasts indicate that the minimum temperature in Paris could drop to -1°C on Wednesday, which is 4°C lower than the historical average, and the region may continue to experience cold weather for the next two weeks.

According to data from France's transmission system operator RTE, to meet the additional electricity demand, France has also increased the power generation of coal and gas plants, highlighting the tightness of the electricity market during the cold wave.

According to Epex Spot SE data, the day-ahead electricity price for delivery in France on Wednesday was €89.07 per megawatt-hour. This price is higher than the corresponding electricity price in Germany, which is an unusual phenomenon in the European electricity market

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