--- title: Europe's Energy Crisis Worsens as Heat Waves Increase Demand description: European power prices rose to fresh records on Thursday as a heat wave limits energy supplies and wildfires rage across France. canonical: https://time.com/6205391/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-08-11T15:34:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T14:36:28.218Z article:section: Climate og:title: Europe's Energy Crisis Worsens as Heat Waves Increase Demand og:description: European power prices rose to fresh records on Thursday as a heat wave limits energy supplies and wildfires rage across France. og:url: https://time.com/6205391/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb6b07f29cd2cdbc/698a348b457a526f43d66b4e/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: European Energy Crisis Deepens as Power Prices Reach Records og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Europe's Energy Crisis Worsens as Heat Waves Increase Demand twitter:description: European power prices rose to fresh records on Thursday as a heat wave limits energy supplies and wildfires rage across France. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb6b07f29cd2cdbc/698a348b457a526f43d66b4e/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # European Energy Crisis Worsens as Heat Waves Push Up Demand and Prices Soar > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=bf5409db-f34d-492d-94d4-b5416ae2e7ce&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [William Mathis/Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## William Mathis/Bloomberg Contributor Aug 11, 2022 3:34 PM UTC  This picture taken on August 10, 2022, shows a water tower and high voltage line pylons in a field in Saint-Simeon, Normandy, northwestern France. This picture taken on August 10, 2022, shows a water tower and high voltage line pylons in a field in Saint-Simeon, Normandy, northwestern France. Joel Saget—AFP/Getty Images by [William Mathis/Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## William Mathis/Bloomberg Contributor Aug 11, 2022 3:34 PM UTC European power prices rose to fresh records on Thursday as a heat wave limits energy supplies and [wildfires rage](https://time.com/6198623/europe-heat-wave/) across France. The gains reflect a tight market for [natural gas](https://time.com/6139049/europe-natural-gas-green-energy/)—used to fuel power plants—as [Russia cuts supplies](https://time.com/6200523/europe-russia-gas-future/) just as Europe works to replenish stockpiles for winter. A drop in nuclear-reactor output, as well as low wind and hydro generation, has exacerbated the squeeze, raising the specter of intervention to reduce demand. “If Russia cuts off the gas and there might not be enough gas for the whole demand, then there would be rationing,” Annegret Groebel, president of the Council of European Energy Regulators, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Blackouts “can be avoided, but of course it requires a lot of preparatory work that we are currently doing.” **Read More:**[ _Column: Russia Is Still Winning the Energy War_](https://time.com/6172292/russia-ukraine-invasion-energy/) Benchmark [German power](https://time.com/6190379/germany-russian-gas-cuts/) for next year rose as much as 6.6% to a record 455 euros a megawatt-hour on the European Energy Exchange AG. The French contract was up as much as 7.8%, rising to 622 euros a megawatt-hour. That’s about $1,100 for the equivalent energy of a barrel of oil. [Heat waves](https://time.com/6198623/europe-heat-wave/) this summer have intensified demand while adding to supply disruptions, with key waterways—which are used to generate hydropower, cool nuclear plants and ship energy commodities—drying up. France is in a particularly dire situation, as more than half of its nuclear fleet is offline for maintenance. Normally the nation would be exporting power, but this year it has become a net importer, leading neighboring countries to [burn more gas](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-10/europe-turns-to-gas-even-more-to-keep-the-lights-on-as-cuts-loom) to keep the lights on. Wildfires have been raging in the country, leading President Emmanuel Macron to to enlist [help](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-11/france-taps-europe-for-help-in-fighting-drought-fueled-wildfires) from across Europe to join 10,000 French firefighters to battle the blazes. **Read More:** [_These Cities Broke Temperature Records in Europe’s Heat Wave_](https://time.com/5635062/europe-heatwave-temperature-records/) “Historically-low nuclear power output and low hydro reservoirs across Europe are leaving a shortfall in supply that can only be met with dispatchable sources like coal and gas,” said Patricio Alvarez, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “This adds to the resilience of gas demand at a time of dwindling supply from Russia.” The tight power supplies led the UK to issue a warning about a narrow margin between supply and demand on Thursday evening. While National Grid ESO, the country’s grid operator, said there will be sufficient generation, it’s another sign of the difficulties faced by Europe’s electricity system this year. _With assistance from_ John Ainger_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6205391/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6205391/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices/"},"headline":"European Energy Crisis Worsens as Heat Waves Push Up Demand and Prices Soar","datePublished":"2022-08-11T15:34:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T14:36:28.218Z","description":"European power prices rose to fresh records on Thursday as a heat wave limits energy supplies and wildfires rage across France.","url":"https://time.com/6205391/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices/","keywords":["energy","climate change","europe","wire","healthscienceclimate","bloomberg wire"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb6b07f29cd2cdbc/698a348b457a526f43d66b4e/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"William Mathis/Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb6b07f29cd2cdbc/698a348b457a526f43d66b4e/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"European Energy Crisis Deepens as Power Prices Reach Records","caption":"energy-crisis-europe-power-prices","creditText":"Joel Saget—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/energy/","name":"energy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6205391/energy-crisis-europe-power-prices/","name":"European Energy Crisis Worsens as Heat Waves Push Up Demand and Prices Soar"}}]}] ```