French power supply outpacing demand as electrification lags, grid operator says

PARIS, Dec ‌9 (Reuters) - France has entered a period of electricity overcapacity due to flagging ‍industrial use ‌and growing renewable and nuclear output, grid operator RTE said on Tuesday, calling ⁠for Europe-level action to boost electrification.

Power ‌prices in France have fallen to their lowest since mid 2018 after rocketing during the 2022 energy crisis, which caused traditional industry to shutter factories and cut power consumption.

RTE said electricity ⁠demand growth had followed the slower scenario laid out in its 2023 analysis as weaker economic expansion ​has led to less power demand compared to the ‌pre-COVID average and a slow rollout of ⁠electrification projects.

To overcome this overcapacity, decarbonisation and electrification projects like the electric vehicle rollout and hydrogen production need to be implemented more quickly, which will require ​action on the European level, RTE said in a report.

The supply-demand imbalance led to record power exports in 2024, and France is on track to break that record in 2025 after reaching 82 terawatt hours of exports by November, just ​7 ‍TWh short of last year's ​total with a month to go, RTE said.

However export capacity is limited by infrastructure constraints, and RTE said overcapacity is likely to require more modulation capacity - the ability to reduce power supply at periods of low demand - at nuclear and renewable plants.

Lowering power supply over increased periods means that power producers like nuclear operator EDF would ⁠see a hit to their profits as they curtail production, and could also lead to extended maintenance delays during less ​profitable months.

RTE currently has 30 gigawatt hours of grid access rights signed and contracted for heavy industry, including hydrogen, mobility and data centres, which can help mitigate some of the oversupply, the report said.

Compared to other ‌countries, France could see greater demand growth by the end of the decade and higher electricity grid utilisation rates, RTE said.

(Reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Jan Harvey)