French Nuclear Output Posts Eight-Year July High Despite Heatwave Cuts
Preliminary RTE data show 29.7 TWh generated in July, the highest for any July since 2018, as improved reactor availability offset two rounds of cooling curtailments.
French nuclear power generation hit 29.7 TWh in July, the highest output for that month in eight years, preliminary data from grid operator RTE showed on Wednesday (2026-08-05). Two separate heatwaves forced cuts at multiple units during the period, yet the fleet delivered a monthly total not seen in any July since 2018.5
The performance has direct implications for European power balances. France generates around 70% of its electricity from nuclear, and when its fleet runs near capacity it exports large volumes to Germany, Britain and other neighbors, displacing gas-fired generation and bearing down on continental wholesale prices. A strong July reading is bearish for European baseload.2
Average reactor availability in July stood at 43 GW, up 1.2 GW year-on-year, according to Montel EQ data. Two heatwaves pushed air-conditioning demand higher simultaneously, raising domestic consumption at the same moment output was being constrained at river-cooled plants. The fleet absorbed both pressures and still outperformed any previous July in the past eight years.5
The worst single-day disruption came on Monday (2026-07-13), when oilprice.com reported France cut 6.4 GW of nuclear capacity, roughly 14% of national power demand, as rising river temperatures limited cooling-water intake at multiple sites. EDF had also temporarily shut two reactors as a precautionary environmental measure during an earlier heat event in late June (2026-06-25), Yahoo News reported.2,3
The environmental constraint is an annual feature of French nuclear operations. A Kpler analyst told Montel on Wednesday (2026-06-17) that efforts to maximise French nuclear output sit in direct conflict with regulations designed to prevent rivers from overheating. That same month, Montel reported EDF had warned that high temperatures on the Rhone could force output reductions at the 2.7 GW St Alban plant and the 3.6 GW Bugey facility.1
But France stayed a net exporter through July's sharpest curtailments. RTE data showed more than 10 GW flowing to neighboring countries during the height of the heat event. That export surplus, maintained while France was running 6.4 GW short of capacity on Monday (2026-07-13), indicates how much headroom the fleet now carries over domestic load.2
Renewables also set a monthly record. Preliminary RTE data put French renewable output at 12.1 TWh in July, the highest for any July on record, adding further supply above a domestic demand base already served by peak nuclear generation.5
EDF's half-year results, published on the same Wednesday (2026-08-05), put French nuclear output at 189.9 TWh for the first six months of 2026. Group EBITDA came in at €14.1bn, net income at €5.2bn, cash flow at €2.6bn, and net financial debt at €51.5bn. The fleet's carbon intensity stood at 26.5 gCO2/kWh in the period, according to EDF's own data.4
Full-year guidance targets 350-370 TWh of French nuclear generation in both 2026 and 2027, with the range broadening to 345-375 TWh in 2028 and a longer-term ambition above 400 TWh. Achieving the upper end of that range requires the fleet to limit sustained heat-driven curtailments of the kind seen in July.4
ICE Endex TTF front-month gas was recorded at €55.50/MWh on 2026-08-09. If temperatures along the Rhone climb again in August, EDF faces the same river-cooling constraints at St Alban and Bugey that surfaced in June and July. A sustained curtailment at the scale seen on Monday (2026-07-13), when 6.4 GW was removed from the grid, would reduce French export capacity and increase the call on continental gas-fired generation, pressing TTF higher.1