Le Parisian: “1000% d’augmentation en un an : le prix de gros de l’électricité en France atteint un niveau stratosphérique

A year ago, prices for these two countries were around 85 euros / MWh. Several causes are behind the course explosion, starting with the drying up of Russian gas flows to Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine – many thermal power plants use gas to generate electricity, and the shutdown of many French EDF nuclear reactors, in particular due to a corrosion problem. Only 24 of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors are operating at the moment, in particular due to a corrosion problem, which reduces French electricity production to a historically low level, and mechanically increases prices.

For next December specifically, the megawatt hour of electricity is already trading at more than 1600 euros, an extraordinary level.

(Note that the electricity is already selling for the 1600 euro price, up from 85 euros traditionally.  This is being paid now, in advance, for electricity in the spring, when it is expected to trade higher than 1600 euros per megawatt hour. This is $1,555 per MWH in U.S. Dollars).  The average U.S. monthly MWH charge is somewhere around $70 USD (yellow zones), so imagine if your electric bill was $280, which is four current MWH, marginally typical for an apartment or small house.  That is 4 x 1MWH, or 4MWH.  So in the summer of 2023, expect the French to pay 4 x 1MWH or 4 x 1600 euros or 6400 euros or $6220.16 USD for one months average residential electricity usage.  

That’s over $72,000 USD annually just for the light bill.  And its already been paid for, bought wholesale, at that price.  Let that sink in.  The electric companies bought the energy to generate that electricity already, and at the new “stratosphérique” price.  Consumers are still operating under the current contract.  In the new contract, they will not have electricity.  Period.

(Back to the French news article…) “Beyond these two countries, all of Europe is struck. The Czech Prime Minister, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union, announced on Friday that his country would convene an emergency meeting.

Although governments want to be publicly reassuring against any risk of power outages in companies that have become accustomed to the comfort of electricity continuously, the markets are telling another story, with operators ready to buy electrons more than ten times more expensive than they did a year ago. European states have spent tens of billions of euros this year to protect their citizens from price increases, but this « shield » is becoming increasingly difficult to finance. The example of the United Kingdom shows it: the regulator announced on Friday that the regulated energy tariffs would increase by 80% from October in the country, and that gas and electricity bills could increase further « considerably » in 2023.

The article is here if you want to translate and finish it.  Not much left.