France’s electricity trade balance was 55.7 TWh in 2019, a slight decrease from a year earlier. Export volumes declined slightly to 84 TWh, whereas import volumes rose to 28.3 TWh.
France nonetheless remained the biggest electricity exporter in Europe.

Trade balances were positive every month, though the January figure was the lowest observed since December 2017.

Trading remained very volatile throughout the year, ranging from a net import balance of 9.3 GW at 9:00 am on 19 November to a 17.4 GW net export balance on 22 February at 4:00 pm, a new record. These fluctuations represent nearly 27 GW of flexibility for the French power system, which also illustrates the level of European solidarity made possible by interconnections.

France was a net importer of energy on 25 days in 2019, eight days more than in 2018. Most of these days were in January, November and December, when temperatures were below normal for the season.

It should be noted that there is a direct correlation between France’s electricity trading and price differences with its neighbouring countries. At times, it may make sense economically for France to import energy rather than firing up costly generation assets within its borders. In other words, France may import electricity even when there is no shortage of generation capacity.