FR-DE power spread hits a weekly high

On 25 May 2026, France's wholesale electricity price was EUR 30.27 per megawatt-hour while Germany's was EUR 81.45, a gap of EUR 51.18. France and Germany are next-door neighbours, but that gap is comparable to buying petrol for EUR 1.00 in France and EUR 2.70 just across the border. That is roughly the same difference as buying petrol for EUR 1.00 per litre in France and EUR 2.70 per litre just across the border. France's price is low because EDF, the French state electricity company, runs a large fleet of nuclear power stations. Nuclear plants have very low running costs once built, so when they produce more electricity than France needs, prices fall sharply. France recently started up a new reactor called Flamanville-3 in Normandy, adding even more nuclear output. Germany's price is high because without nuclear and with limited renewable output at the moment, Germany burns gas to make electricity. Gas and carbon permits (which companies must buy when they burn fossil fuels) are expensive, so electricity from a German gas power plant costs a lot more to produce. The catch: from September, the new French reactor will go offline for a year of maintenance. That will reduce French surplus supply and probably narrow the gap between French and German prices, ending a trade that many investors have been profiting from.