The Grid Under
Pressure

France's electricity grid today — then scroll back through history to 2019. Each step takes you further into the past.

2026 – 2027

★ Forecast — Electrification · AI campuses · Overcapacity

The dawn of electrification: too much clean electricity?

For the first time, France's challenge is not producing enough clean electricity — it's consuming enough. With 92 TWh exported in 2025 and prices falling, RTE warns of real overcapacity risk.

30 GW of grid connections granted by end-2025: data centers, green hydrogen, heat pumps, EV charging. The first AI campus (1.4 GW, Campus IA contract) connects in 2027.

RTE projects nuclear output of 350–370 TWh in 2026. Solar continues its surge (+6 GW/year). The two-pillar strategy — nuclear base + renewable growth — is ahead of schedule.

2024 – 2025

Nuclear renaissance · Renewable records · Source: RTE 2025 Report

France becomes Europe's electricity powerhouse again

EDF's refurbishment program pays off. Nuclear output reaches 373 TWh in 2025 — back to 2019 levels. Low-carbon electricity exceeds 95.2% of the mix, a historic maximum.

Wind and solar together reach 20% of the mix. CO₂ intensity falls to 19.6 gCO₂/kWh. Fossil generation hits its lowest level in 75 years.

France exports 92.3 TWh in 2025, generating €5.4 billion. Macron announces six new EPR2 reactors.

JANUARY 2023

Sobriety plan · EcoWatt · Tariff crisis

How France avoided the blackout

In autumn 2022, the government launches the sobriety plan. The goal: cut consumption 10% to avoid rolling blackouts. Shop windows go dark at night. Public building heating capped at 19°C.

The EcoWatt app sends real-time alerts during peak grid tension. For the first time since the oil shocks, the state asks citizens to concretely change their energy habits.

Result: January 2023 consumption sits 12% below the five-year average. Blackout avoided. But the nuclear fleet is still at only 55% capacity.

AUGUST 2022

Nuclear crisis + heatwave + Ukraine war

32 reactors offline — France imports electricity for the first time

In January 2022, EDF announces stress corrosion in the cooling circuits of several reactors. What starts as an isolated technical problem quickly becomes a national crisis.

By summer 2022, 32 of France's 56 nuclear reactors are simultaneously offline. France, a net electricity exporter for 40 years, becomes an importer for the first time in its modern history.

The convergence is brutal: drought, heatwave, and the Ukraine war push gas to record prices. French electricity briefly exceeds €1,000/MWh in August.

MARCH 2020

COVID-19 pandemic · National lockdown

The grid collapses in silence

On March 17, 2020 at noon, Emmanuel Macron announces a full national lockdown. Within hours, electricity consumption drops 15% — a cliff visible in real time on RTE's charts.

Factories stop. Offices empty. Metros run to nowhere. For the first time since World War II, industrial France grinds to a halt.

Paradoxically, the grid has never been cleaner. Nuclear output stays steady, but the collapsed demand means renewables cover a record share. Grid CO₂ falls to historically low levels.

JULY 2019

Calm summer — balanced grid

France, the world's nuclear electricity champion

France generates more than 70% of its electricity from nuclear power — a world record per capita. This strategic choice, inherited from the 1970s oil shock, has made France one of the countries with the lowest carbon footprint for its electricity grid.

In summer 2019, the grid runs like clockwork. Consumption dips slightly in July — holidays, slower industry — and France exports massively to its European neighbors. The megawatt-hour trades between €35 and €45.

Nothing foreshadows what will happen in the three years ahead.

Sources

Data is approximate and for illustrative purposes only. Verify against official publications before any decision-making use.

2026 – 2027★

★ Forecast — Electrification · AI campuses · Overcapacity