A heatwave pushed European power prices to winter levels, with German power reaching 210 euros a megawatt hour on 23 June

An intense heatwave across Europe this summer has pushed electricity prices to levels normally seen in the cold winter months at the peak of heating demand. According to London Stock Exchange Group data reported on Sunday 2 August 2026 (11 Mordad 1405), the day ahead power price in Germany reached 210 euros per megawatt hour on 23 June 2026, while power contract prices in France and the United Kingdom rose to their highest levels since January 2025.

The pressure has come from two directions. On the supply side, according to data from Kpler, when temperatures passed 40 degrees Celsius in parts of France, the country's nuclear output fell by more than 9 gigawatts over several days and 12 of its 57 reactors were affected, because the reactors rely on river water for cooling. According to the think tank Ember, nuclear plants supply about 23 percent and gas plants about 17 percent of the European Union's electricity; Rystad Energy reports that a typical gas plant can lose roughly 7 to 12 percent of its output at 30 degrees Celsius.

The channel to Iran's market is the gas price: according to Bourse News, gas prices have approached their highest levels since the start of the Russia and Ukraine war in 2022 because of disruption to energy transit from West Asia following the US attack on Iran, and that has raised the cost of generating electricity in Europe.