Belgium Power Price Hits €1,038.25/MWh as Europe Heatwave Drives Cooling Demand
Updated
Updated · Euronews · Jun 25
Belgium Power Price Hits €1,038.25/MWh as Europe Heatwave Drives Cooling Demand
1 articles · Updated · Euronews · Jun 25
Summary
Belgium’s quarter-hourly power price jumped to a record €1,038.25/MWh on Tuesday evening, with the Netherlands at €902.47/MWh and Germany at €747.10/MWh as the heatwave tightened electricity markets.
Surging air-conditioning demand collided with weaker supply after sunset, when solar output drops and grid operators rely more on gas plants that set the market price under Europe’s merit-order system.
High temperatures also cut generation efficiency: solar panels lose 0.3% to 0.5% of output per 1°C above 25°C, while combined-cycle gas plants can lose up to 0.9% per 1°C; Germany’s residual load hit 51.5 GW.
The financial hit is spreading beyond utility bills, with school closures in France and the UK forcing emergency childcare and bans on afternoon fieldwork in parts of France cutting hours for outdoor workers.
Climate Analytics said combined heat-and-drought events already reduce average European household incomes by nearly 3%, and under current policy warming of 2.7°C could cut them 27% by 2100 as the heatwave persists into early July.
As heatwaves threaten a 27% income drop, can Europe’s economy survive its own inaction on climate adaptation?
As warming accelerates, why are proposals emerging to defund the very systems that monitor this escalating global crisis?
Record €1,038/MWh Electricity Price in Belgium: Heatwave, Market Vulnerabilities, and Europe’s Energy Transition
Overview
On June 23, 2026, Belgium faced a severe energy crisis as electricity prices soared to a record €1,038.25/MWh for a 15-minute interval. This spike was triggered by an intense heatwave across Central and Western Europe, which drove up temperatures and sharply increased electricity demand, especially for air conditioning. The crisis was worsened by costly electricity imports from France, where nuclear plants had to cut output due to high river temperatures. This event exposed vulnerabilities in the European energy market, highlighting the urgent need for grid modernization, flexible market reforms, and investment in new technologies to ensure future stability.