Electricity imports into France: an agreement with Germany signed next week

A Franco-German agreement will be signed next week to "secure electricity import capacities" in France.

Share:

Comprehensive energy news coverage, updated nonstop

Annual subscription

8.25$/month*

*billed annually at 99$/year for the first year then 149,00$/year ​

Unlimited access • Archives included • Professional invoice

OTHER ACCESS OPTIONS

Monthly subscription

Unlimited access • Archives included

5.2$/month*
then 14.90$ per month thereafter

FREE ACCOUNT

3 articles offered per month

FREE

*Prices are excluding VAT, which may vary depending on your location or professional status

Since 2021: 35,000 articles • 150+ analyses per week

A Franco-German agreement will be signed next week to “secure electricity import capacities” in France, the French government announced Friday to the press.

This winter, electricity could be in short supply in France, where 70% of the power is nuclear.

The country has been weakened by a much lower availability of its nuclear fleet, with about half of the 56 reactors shut down due to scheduled maintenance or work related to corrosion problems and delays in the start-up schedule.

In this uncertain context for energy security, the government is betting on “two crucial points to secure the passage of the winter” and avoid targeted cuts: “efforts to reduce energy consumption” and “European energy solidarity”.

On this last lever, a “Franco-German agreement” is about to succeed in “securing electricity import capacities” in France, the Ministry of Energy Transition has learned.

“The government is working at the European level to ensure that neighboring Member States and Germany in particular play the game of energy solidarity by allowing the export of electricity to France at maximum capacity,” it said.

“The results of this work are positive and should lead to the signing of an agreement with Germany next week,” the ministry stressed.

It should allow to “maximize” the export capacities of electricity from Germany to France.

Paris has already been sending gas to its German neighbor since mid-October to help it overcome the drying up of Russian gas flows.

The issue is to ensure that “the minimum capacity is well put and is maximized beyond the European framework especially during days of tension on the power grid in France,” says a government source.

This agreement will concretize a gas-electricity mutual aid agreement formalized on September 5 between the French and German leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz.

The two leaders had agreed that France would deliver more gas to Germany, which could in return supply, if necessary, electricity to its neighbor weakened by a nuclear production at the lowest.

The French electricity transmission system operator RTE also welcomed on Friday the “reinforcement” from mid-November of “the physical exchange capacity with Belgium and the increase by the German managers of the capacities offered to the existing interconnections”, leading “to increase the import potential, and therefore to strengthen the security of supply”.

Ambassadors of European Union member states have approved the transmission of a legislative proposal to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports by January 2028 to the Council of Ministers.
The State Duma has approved Russia’s formal withdrawal from a treaty signed with the United States on the elimination of military-grade plutonium, ending over two decades of strategic nuclear cooperation.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was not in Poland’s interest to extradite to Germany a Ukrainian citizen suspected of taking part in the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022.
Al-Harfi and SCLCO signed agreements with Syrian authorities to develop solar and wind capacity, amid an ongoing energy rapprochement between Riyadh and Damascus.
Faced with risks to Middle Eastern supply chains, Thai and Japanese refiners are turning to US crude, backed by tariff incentives and strategies aligned with ongoing bilateral trade discussions.
France intercepted a tanker linked to Russian exports, prompting Emmanuel Macron to call for a coordinated European response to hinder vessels bypassing oil sanctions.
The activation of the snapback mechanism reinstates all UN sanctions on Iran, directly affecting the defence, financial and maritime trade sectors.
Commissioner Dan Jørgensen visits Greenland to expand energy ties with the European Union, amid plans to double EU funding for the 2028–2034 period.
European and Iranian foreign ministers meet in New York to try to prevent the reinstatement of UN sanctions linked to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announces a bilateral agreement with Mexico including targeted investments in energy corridors, logistics infrastructure and cross-border security.
The US president has called for an immediate end to Russian oil imports by NATO countries, denouncing a strategic contradiction as sanctions against Moscow are being considered.
Tehran withdrew a resolution denouncing attacks on its nuclear facilities, citing US pressure on IAEA members who feared suspension of Washington’s voluntary contributions.
Poland’s energy minister calls on European Union member states to collectively commit to halting Russian oil purchases within two years, citing increasing geopolitical risks.
Athens and Tripoli engage in a negotiation process to define their exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean, amid geopolitical tensions and underwater energy stakes.
European powers demand concrete steps from Tehran on nuclear issue or United Nations sanctions will be reinstated, as IAEA inspections remain blocked and tensions with Washington persist.
Brussels confirms its target to end all Russian energy imports by 2028, despite growing diplomatic pressure from Washington amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Donald Trump threatens to escalate US sanctions against Russia, but only if NATO member states stop all Russian oil imports, which remain active via certain pipelines.
The two countries agreed to develop infrastructure dedicated to liquefied natural gas to strengthen Europe's energy security and boost transatlantic trade.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls for modernising the oil industry and expanding export markets as Tehran faces the possible reactivation of 2015 nuclear deal sanctions.
The Ukrainian president demanded that Slovakia end its imports of Russian crude, offering an alternative supply solution amid ongoing war and growing diplomatic tensions over the Druzhba pipeline.

All the latest energy news, all the time

Annual subscription

8.25$/month*

*billed annually at 99$/year for the first year then 149,00$/year ​

Unlimited access - Archives included - Pro invoice

Monthly subscription

Unlimited access • Archives included

5.2$/month*
then 14.90$ per month thereafter

*Prices shown are exclusive of VAT, which may vary according to your location or professional status.

Since 2021: 30,000 articles - +150 analyses/week.