Europe is set to experience one of its warmest seasons on record with temperatures reaching to highs of 40°C, 5-9°C above normal according to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. As a result, utilities are facing power generation challenges and the output of several conventional plants across the continent have been curbed. They either operate at reduced capacity or shut down. Cooling water issues are the main driver behind these challenges. As temperatures soar, the ocean and river water temperatures are too warm to cool down the plants. France for example, shut down three nuclear reactors (total of 3.2GW capacity) along the Rhone River from Friday, August 3, until at least Wednesday, August 8, before temperatures cool off. Information on reported plant availability is derived from REMIT outage messages and updated in real-time by Genscape’s PowerRT platform (see Figure 1 below).
Genscape’s PowerRT platform showed French baseload settled at EUR 63.71/MWh on Friday, August 3, while peak power settled at EUR 69.77/MWh, a five-month high. The combined effect of reduced capacity and increased demand will continue to push power prices to new highs this summer. To make more informed decisions during this volatile season, request to speak with one of our specialists about the PowerRT platform today.