The consumption of electricity in France jumps 13% on Monday compared to the same date a year ago, according to data from the high voltage electricity administrator, while the heat wave is installed in almost all of France.
At 1 PM on Monday, the consumption of electricity in France was 57 Gigawatt (GW) against just under 51 GW a year ago. It has increased since Saturday and Sunday, 4.6% and 7.8% respectively for a year, even if it remains largely below winter consumption, more important due to heating needs.
A “Subessly” at the beginning of summer a year ago
This increase in electricity consumption occurs, while the heat wave in France and southern Europe is increasingly intense, now with temperatures between 30 and 35 ° of a large part of France. A year ago a year ago, the beginning of summer had been “gloomy”, according to Météo France, with only a few days of summer at the end of the month.
The phenomenon is not completely due to greater use of air conditioning or fans to cool off, but it can also be explained by the highest electricity needs linked to data centers or industry compared to last year.
In its 2024 summer report, RTE stressed that “the impact of air conditioning on consumption (electricity) is estimated between 700 and 1,100 MW (0.7 to 1.1 GW, an additional editor note), depending on the temperature conditions found nationally.” “This effect had led, in exceptionally hot climatic conditions, to a maximum summer consumption of 59.1 GW on July 25, 2019 to 1:00 pm,” RTE added.
FACILITIES INCREASE
Engie Home Services, specialized in energy equipment, has indicated that AFP has seen its number of appointments for increased air conditioning in recent weeks. The Group registered 8,374 price requests in June 2025 against 2,931 in June last year. The figures for the number of facilities will be available at the end of summer. “It’s huge, we just do that,” said an air conditioner in the Montpellier region to the AFP.
On the production side, the current heat wave forced EDF to stop on Sunday night, 1 reactor 1 of the Nuclear Energy Plant of Gipfech (TARN-ET-GARONNE). “The climatic conditions of recent days have led to a great increase in the temperature of the Garonne, which is expected to reach 28 ° C on Monday, June 30, 2025,” EDF said.
The energy plant drinks water from the Garonne to guarantee in particular the cooling of its production units before returning it “largely from the river to a slightly higher temperature (+0.2 ° C on average),” the group added. Therefore, this device must be suspended, through a stop of the site activity, in case of too high river water.
Source: BFM TV
