Lessons from the Hitzeflaute: What Europe’s heatwave reveals about power market risk

Europe’s recent heatwave has become a real-world stress test for its power markets.

As high temperatures combined with weak wind generation, spot power prices reached record levels across Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. At the same time, extreme heat in France led to nuclear reactor output restrictions as cooling water temperatures rose. Meteorologists are now warning that another hot spell could arrive in early July, raising the prospect of renewed pressure on French nuclear generation, tighter power markets and further price volatility.

These events highlight how weather is becoming an increasingly important driver of market behaviour. Understanding how heat, wind conditions and system fundamentals interact is essential for anticipating price movements and managing risk.

Join Thibault Laconde, Founder of Callendar and climate risk specialist, and Hamza Aourach, Director of Power at Kpler, for a discussion moderated by Andreas Lochner, Editor for Central & Western Europe at Montel News. Together, they will explore what the recent Hitzeflaute reveals about Europe’s evolving power system, the market signals participants should be monitoring, and how weather-related risks could shape the weeks and months ahead.

What we’ll cover

·         Why the recent combination of extreme heat and low wind led to record spot power prices across parts of Europe

·         How solar generation, CCGTs and evening demand combined to create steep price ramps

·         Why cooling demand can keep electricity system stress elevated beyond peak solar production

·         What Belgium’s record prices reveal about import dependency and cross-border market dynamics

·         How heat-related restrictions on French nuclear generation can affect interconnected European power markets

·         Which weather, residual load and market indicators can provide early warning of similar events

·         Whether current forward power prices fully reflect the growing impact of weather-related market risk

Who should attend

This webinar is designed for power traders, energy analysts, risk managers, utilities, portfolio managers and industrial energy buyers seeking to better understand how extreme weather is reshaping European power markets and influencing trading, procurement and risk management decisions.