French electricity prices turned negative as a drop in demand and surging renewables output prompted some nuclear reactors to power down.
Daily consumption from Thursday through Sunday is seen falling by an average 6 gigawatts, a Bloomberg model shows.
Sunny and blustery weather has driven up solar and wind generation, prompting the grid operator to request that Electricite de France SA take several nuclear plants offline.
It’s becoming increasingly common around weekends in France — which gets about two-thirds of its electricity from its atomic fleet — and also occurs in the Nordic region and Spain.
EDF halted its Golfech 2, Cruas 2 and Tricastin 1 nuclear plants, and plans to halt three others during the weekend.
Some renewables producers will also have to curb generation to avoid paying a fee amid negative prices.
French day-ahead power fell to -€5.76 a megawatt-hour, the lowest in four years, in an auction on Epex Spot. »
