French electricity consumption at normal climate declined by 1.7% in 2022, according to the country’s power transmission power operator RTE. This decline in power demand, which accelerated in the last quarter of 2022 (-9% compared to the average of 2014-2019), was driven by a drop in electricity consumption by energy-intensive sectors, which were not shielded from tariff increases. Electricity consumption also declined in the residential and services sectors (5% drop in the last four months of the year).
Electricity generation decreased by 15% in 2022, reflecting the low availability of the nuclear fleet as well as severe drought constraints on hydropower generation: overall, nuclear power generation was 30% below its 20-year average (23% below 2021) and hydropower generation was 20% below its 2014-2019 average (-20% in 2022). These decreases have been partially offset by a rise in gas-fired generation (+34%) and by the growth in solar generation (+31%). The share of carbon-free electricity in the power mix reached 87%, compared to 91% over the 2014-2021 period.
In 2022, France became a net importer of electricity for the first time since 1980. Net imports reached almost 17 TWh, accounting for 4% of the country’s power consumption. France added 5 GW of renewable capacity in 2022, including 2.6 GW of solar and 1.9 GW of onshore wind.