France exports record amounts of electricity, but negative prices are becoming more common

Net electricity exports from France reached 42 TWh in the first half of this year and, if the current trend continues, the annual export record set in 2022 will be broken, according to French transmission system operator RTE. The international news outlet Montel reported.

France has reported another record for electricity exports. While May saw the highest monthly export figure in at least the past 12 years, at 9.2 TWh, the latest reports point to the highest exports for a first half of the year. They amounted to 42 TWh, almost 30 TWh more than in the first half of last year.

"The volume of electricity exported is comparable to Portugal's annual electricity consumption. If the current trend continues, the 2022 record for annual net electricity exports of 77 TWh will be broken," the French transmission system operator said.

Record electricity exports are the result of high power generation, which in the first half of this year was at its highest level since 2019, and low demand. According to RTE, demand this year has been 5 to 10% lower in individual months than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Number of hours with negative electricity prices is rising

The combination of high power generation, low demand and often-congested export lines is leading, as in other European countries, to more frequent negative electricity prices. France recorded 233 such hours in the first half of this year. By comparison, there were 147 in the whole of last year.

A similar situation can be seen in the Czech electricity market, where prices were negative for 182 hours in the first half of this year, surpassing the full-year figure for last year (134). Last year was already a record year for negative electricity prices in the Czech Republic.