Heatwave Cuts France's Nuclear Output as Power Prices Jump 22 Percent

According to Oilprice.com, in a report published Tuesday, August 11, 2026 (20 Mordad 1405), France's day ahead power prices jumped as much as 21.8 percent on Tuesday morning local time to 142.5 euros ($164.39) per megawatt hour, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. The spike followed a new heatwave that has curbed nuclear power generation in France, Europe's largest supplier of nuclear electricity. Data from French utility EDF showed the country's nuclear output would be cut by 7.3 gigawatts, or 12 percent of total capacity, on Wednesday, August 12 (21 Mordad), the fifth severe heatwave to hit France since June. Nuclear power makes up about 70 percent of France's electricity mix, and low water levels and elevated temperatures in rivers used to cool reactors have constrained output; a similar heatwave in mid July had already cut 6.4 gigawatts of French nuclear capacity. Oilprice.com said the heatwaves have also forced nuclear plants in Hungary and Romania to shut down reactors because of the lowest water levels on the Danube River in 90 years.