Europe is facing an unprecedented energy crisis driven not by geopolitics, but by climate change. Extreme heat sweeping across the continent in June has triggered a sharp electricity shortage and driven market prices to multi-year highs. The power systems of EU leading nations are operating at the limit of their capacity, struggling to meet the colossal demand for cooling.
British Shock: Electricity Prices Surge Sixfold
The United Kingdom has become one of the main victims of this climatic anomaly. The country's grid operator was forced to pay "mad money" for imported electricity. The cost of one megawatt-hour reached £470. For comparison: last year, the average price in June was only £71. This means that tariffs have risen more than sixfold in a short period.
The catalyst for the crisis was a high-pressure heat dome that literally "strangled" the country. The wind practically died down, paralyzing wind generation—one of the key sources of renewable energy in the region. The situation was exacerbated by failures at traditional power plants.
Five major gas facilities in Britain were forced to reduce output. The reason is simple: the air became too hot to cool the equipment effectively. As a result, the system lost 2.5 gigawatts of generation capacity—an amount of energy sufficient to meet the needs of 2.5 million British households.
France and Germany: Overheated Reactors and Temperature Records
Neighbors on the continent faced similar problems. In France, where thermometer readings reached 43°C, electricity prices jumped to €268 per MWh—the highest since August 2023. Some nuclear plants were forced to reduce output due to the overheating of river water. Environmental regulations strictly prohibit discharging water that is too hot back into water bodies, creating an artificial but critical limit on nuclear power generation.
Germany, Europe's largest market, was also hit hard. Prices there reached €545 per MWh, the highest level since June 2024. The day before, the country set a new historical temperature record of 41.5 degrees Celsius.
Solar Hope and the Threat of El Niño
The only factor supporting the balance in the power grid has been solar energy. The cloudless sky allowed for the generation of about 14 GW, which accounts for approximately 35% of total generation in Britain. However, there is a catch here too: the efficiency of solar panels drops during extreme overheating, reducing their output during the hottest hours.
Meteorologists warn that the situation could worsen. The World Meteorological Organization forecasts a high probability of the El Niño phenomenon developing in the coming months. This phenomenon can increase the risks of extreme weather events worldwide, including heatwaves and droughts, which are already demonstrating their destructive power against European infrastructure.