Due to the new heat wave in southern Europe, eleven nuclear power reactors in France had to be shut down or throttled back. That is a record number.
July 14, 2026, 07:09July 14, 2026, 07:09
Amy Walker / t-online
France is already groaning under a heat wavein the south of the country temperatures are climbing above 40 degrees again. This is the third in France Heat wave of the year, and again some nuclear power reactors have to be shut down. Already at the During the second heat wave, the state energy company EDF had to throttle back reactors. This time, however, it affects significantly more reactors than a few weeks ago.
In France, various nuclear power plants have been taken off the grid. (symbol image) Image: keystone
The energy portal “Montel” reports that a total of eleven reactors were affected on Monday. Power plants on the Rhone (southeast) and Garonne (southwest) rivers are particularly affected. A total of 8.8 gigawatts of electricity capacity was switched off. This corresponds to almost 15 percent of the total capacity of the French nuclear power plant fleet.
The measures are intended to prevent too much warm cooling water from being discharged into the already warming rivers during the current heat wave.
Two nuclear reactors are also being taken off the grid in Switzerland
France has 57 nuclear reactors, which produce around 70 percent of the country’s electricity. All of them are located on rivers or by the sea, use the water to cool the reactors and return the heated water to the river or sea.
In order to limit damage to ecosystems, the nuclear regulator ASNR sets maximum water temperature limits for each power plant. EDF, as the operator, is obliged to reduce the output of its nuclear power plants under certain circumstances.
Over the course of the week, when the country and the rivers cool down a little, the systems will gradually be brought back online.
In Switzerland, too, two nuclear power reactors are currently offline due to the heat. According to Montel, only the two reactors at the Beznau power plant are affected. Beznau 1 has been shut down since the last heat wave at the end of June, and the second reactor has since been brought back online. However, this had to be shut down again on Saturday evening, and this should last until Tuesday afternoon.
The reactors of the Beznau nuclear power plants also had to be taken offline in the meantime.Image: Axpo
Security of supply is not affected by these measures in either country. If the electricity supply were to be affected by the shutdown of one or more nuclear power plants, exceptions to environmental protection requirements would apply in both countries. EDF, for example, has applied for such an exception for two of the reactors at the Bugey nuclear power plant, also located on the Rhone, so that the electricity grid remains stable.