Heatwave and drought strip 15% of French nuclear output on Friday

A heatwave is forcing EDF to curtail an estimated 15% of France's nuclear fleet on Friday, according to Reuters. Thermal discharge limits on cooling rivers are the binding constraint. The affected capacity figure covers the French zone as a whole; unit-level detail was not reported.

In parallel, Romania's Nuclearelectrica has started a controlled shutdown of its sole working reactor, with drought on the Danube reducing available cooling water to below operational thresholds. Reuters also reported that Danube water levels have hit record lows, creating a shared exposure across both the Romanian and Hungarian nuclear fleets.

The confluence is notable: two zones are pulling nuclear capacity offline simultaneously for the same underlying reason, climate-driven water stress. Traders pricing cross-border flows between the French, Romanian, and Hungarian zones should note the correlated outage risk is not yet resolved.