France Pushed Off Top Spot as Europe’s Biggest Exporter of Power

France has lost its position as Europe's biggest exporter of electricity as it struggles with extended power cuts.

The analyst said that France needed to import more power than it exported during the first half of the year. Sweden became the region's biggest net exporter, with most of the electricity going to the Nordic countries.

France has 56 nuclear reactors, which makes it a key exporter, but only about half of the stations are available when there is an outage. France has been able to source a lot of power from other countries due to the high prices in the region.

The French market has an exceptional net-import position due to France's nuclear issues. High gas prices have made it less economically attractive for France to export gas to Europe. Gas assets in Europe have been pushed out of merit.

The fleet of French nuclear power stations is the core of the European power system, but they are becoming less reliable as neighboring countries tighten their supplies.

Electricite de France's fleet has been put under more pressure due to the heat wave in Europe, with regulators granting a temporary waiver for five nuclear plants to discharge hot water into rivers that may violate environmental standards as the nation struggles with an energy crisis. The French government said on Wednesday that it will defend the decision to force EDF to sell more of its nuclear power output to rivals at a discount because it was in the interests of consumers.

The amount of power France exported in the first half of the year was almost half the amount it exported in the same period a year ago. France's nuclear reactor were at 50% of capacity on Wednesday, the same level as Tuesday.

The UK and Germany both increased their net exports of power during the same time. In the last few days, power prices in Germany and France have reached new heights. A reduction in exports from France is a key driver of security of supply this winter, according to the UK.

German power has hit a new record as the energy crisis rages.

Sweden exported 16 tera watt-hours in the first half of the year. Italy imported 22 Tera watt-hours mostly from Switzerland and France during the first half of the year.