Wholesale electricity prices for 2023 in France, Germany, and the Nordic countries soared to new record highs on Friday, as Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom announced the same day that all gas deliveries sent via Nord Stream 1 would be halted from August 31st to September 2nd.
In what was a highly volatile week for energy prices across the Continent, Friday saw year-ahead electricity prices in Germany and France, two of Europe’s most crucial markets, surge to 995 euros and past 1,100 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), respectively, a more than tenfold increase in both countries compared to last year, Les Nouvelles reports.
In France, only 24 of the country’s 56 nuclear reactors operated by the French state-supported energy giant Électricité de France are online at the moment, reducing French electricity production to one of the lowest levels ever recorded, and inevitably increasing the per unit price of electricity.
On the same day, the Nordic countries saw their year-ahead electricity prices jump by double digits, climbing 11% to a record high of 277 euros per MWh.
Meanwhile in Britain, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM), the government regulator for electricity and natural gas, has announced energy bills are set to increase by 80% to an average of 3,549 pounds (4,184 euros) a year from October—an increase that will likely throw millions into poverty and send businesses into bankruptcy if the government fails to intervene in some capacity.
As a result of the drastic price hikes, Czechia, which holds the presidency at rotating presidency at the Council of the European Union, on Friday announced that it would convene an emergency meeting of energy ministers “at the earliest possible date.”
