
February 19, 2026
6
Min reading
.jpg)
For two years, the number of episodes of negative electricity prices has broken records: 102 hours in 2022, 147 in 2023, then 352 in 2024. In three years, with +345%, the increase was meteoric! This is not a new phenomenon. Since the end of the 2000s, it has affected several markets in Europe, such as the Netherlands or Germany. But the rise of renewable energies is accelerating this trend. Faced with this evolution, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE) launched the alert in November 2024, publishing a series of recommendations.
If these negative prices are not reflected in consumers' electricity bills, they weaken the market and can impact long-term prices. Why these extreme declines? What are the consequences? And above all, how can these imbalances on the electricity market be avoided?
Sirenergies unravels the mystery of negative prices.
Under the law of the market, negative electricity prices occur when supply exceeds demand. With the rise of renewable energies and climate change, periods of negative prices have followed one another since 2023.
Renewable energies are intermittent and unpredictable. Their production varies according to weather conditions. It can leap under the effect of strong sunlight or a strong wind.
If this sudden increase coincides with low demand, the electricity market is out of balance, with a risk of negative prices.
Faced with this increase in renewable production, the solution may seem simple: why not stop the production of traditional power plants?
The reality is more complex. The flexibility of nuclear power plants, gas or coal, is limited. The cost of restarting is high; a minimum technical power threshold must be respected; the minimum downtime is incompressible. While production can be slowed down, stopping completely is difficult.
Faced with these technical and economic constraints, producers prefer to sell at a negative price on the spot market rather than stopping their installations. A controlled loss of production over a few hours leads to smaller financial losses. In its report, the CRE estimates that this valuation of the electricity produced by the French fleet in hours of negative prices cost around €80 million in the first half of 2024.
The price of electricity fluctuates with demand. The latter varies according to consumer behavior and climatic conditions.
Negative prices occur especially during the summer, when demand weakens. Rising temperatures, longer working days, the summer closure of businesses and vacations are slowing consumption. During this period, solar production reached its maximum, accentuating the network imbalance.
Also in its report, the CRE also highlights the risks of negative prices on weekends and afternoons.
Climate change is making the situation worse. With mild winter and spring temperatures, negative prices are being observed earlier and earlier in the year.
Negative electricity prices could be welcome. But this phenomenon is not sustainable in the long term. Negative prices disrupt the market, with unexpected and sometimes problematic effects.
Negative electricity prices are making investors cautious. If profitability becomes uncertain, Businesses are hesitant to finance new means of production, fearing not to cover all of their fixed and variable costs.
In a market, seeing negative prices is normal. They reflect the balance between supply and demand at a given moment. But their frequency raises questions about the viability of this economic model if it ultimately discourages electricity production.
The rise of renewable energies accentuates the phenomenon of negative electricity prices. A country with high wind capacity could suffer the consequences, such as Germany.
Usually, excess energy is exported thanks to European interconnections. However, with the rise of renewable energies in all countries, The electrical networks are saturating. It then becomes difficult to transport excess production to Europe. In 2023 and 2024, France remained an exporter in 85% of cases during hours at negative prices. But trading volumes are falling compared to hours with positive prices.
To limit negative electricity prices, several measures are being studied. Some are in the process of being implemented. They target both supply and demand. The law of the market is relentless: playing on supply and demand is the only solution to reduce risks.
Intelligent systems offer a simple, fast, and effective solution for adapt electricity consumption to supply in real time. The intelligent control for certain uses (heating or cooling via heat pumps, electric vehicle charging) reinforces the stability and flexibility of the system in the face of unexpected variations.
The TURP 7 brings a major breakthrough, with the reform of off-peak and peak hours. By establishing at least two off-peak hours in the afternoon, CRE intends to stimulate demand when renewable production is strongest, thus reducing the risks of negative market prices.
Negative electricity prices have no impact on renewable energy producers who are obliged to buy. They then have no interest in stopping their production despite a low downtime cost.
In its recommendations, the CRE recommends the support for the stopping of photovoltaic installations and wind turbines during a period of negative prices.
Several options are being considered, depending on the type of production and the contract:
The CRE also insists on strengthening the contribution of renewable energies to the balancing mechanism of the electrical network. She recommends the establishment of a programming obligation in network access contracts in order to help RTE better anticipate imbalances.
When electricity production cannot be reduced or consumed, one option is needed: store for later use.
In France, hydroelectricity and WWTPs are the pillars of electricity storage. But other technologies are emerging, including electrochemical storage batteries in full growth. Promising prospects are also emerging with the Power-to-Gas and the storage of electricity in the form of hydrogen.
By balancing supply and demand in real time, storage increases the flexibility of renewable energies and stabilizes the electrical system.
The coupling of national markets and the pooling of flexibility resources maintain homogeneous wholesale electricity prices in a large part of Europe.
An unbalanced network can be rebalanced thanks to a nearby electrical system, provided that the capacities of the interconnections are not saturated. Strengthening these links would make it possible to limit negative price episodes.
Negative electricity prices are not just a temporary anomaly: they reveal an electrical system put under stress by the necessary energy transition. While renewable energies are essential for decarbonizing the future, they are upsetting market balances. Their massive integration, without solutions for flexibility, storage or intelligent management of demand, generates perverse effects. The incentive to reduce renewable energies during a period of negative prices, while maintaining fossil production, once again highlights the major challenge of our time: reconciling climate ambition, energy security and economic imperatives.
Your Sirenergies space allows you to visualize market price curves updated daily.
There are various products:
— Forward products in electricity (baseload and peakload) and gas over the years, quarters and months periods;
— Total depth since the products were put on the market;
— Product history, current products and forecasts for A+4 and A+5;
— Spot product in electricity and gas (PEG and TTF) by the hour, day and month;
— CO2 year and December.

.png)
Exceeding capacity leads to financial penalties and can impact the size of the contract. Adjust the correctly subscribed power makes it possible to avoid these additional costs.
.png)
En 2025, la France a atteint un solde exportateur net de 92,3 TWh, battant le précédent record de 2024 (89 TWh).
.png)
Absolument. La réforme des heures creuses vise à absorber la surproduction solaire en milieu de journée. Les créneaux d'heures creuses se déplacent progressivement vers la plage 11h00 – 17h00, notamment en été. C'est une opportunité majeure pour les sites industriels ou tertiaires capables de flexibilité.
Conseil stratégique :
.png)
Ce record de 92,3 TWh s'explique par la conjonction de trois facteurs :
.png)
In 2025, the supplier had a NPS (Net Promoter Score) of +16 and a note of 4,17/5.
Satisfaction is based on a “zero solicitation” model and 100% in-house customer service in Toulon, guaranteeing proximity and responsiveness that cannot be found with major historical suppliers.
.png)
La réussite d'un projet collectif énergie repose sur trois piliers fondamentaux :
.png)
Le kVA mesure la capacité maximale que votre compteur peut supporter à un instant T, tandis que le kWh mesure la quantité d'énergie consommée sur une durée.
.png)
Yes. The supplier guarantees an offer 100% renewable via the official Guarantees of Origin (GO) mechanism.
For the most demanding companies, the offer GREENVOLT+ ensures very low carbon intensity electricity, sourced exclusively from independent French producers (hydraulic, wind, solar).
.png)
Le prix Forward est fixé à l'avance (sécurité budgétaire), tandis que le prix Spot varie heure par heure selon le marché (opportunité mais risque élevé).
.png)
L'impact dépendra des prix de marché. Le mécanisme prévoit une redistribution si les prix dépassent 78 €/MWh. Cependant, si les cours restent bas (actuellement autour de 60 €/MWh), le dispositif ne s'activera pas. La facture sera alors indexée à 100% sur les prix de marché, rendant le choix du fournisseur et du moment d'achat critiques.
.png)
Industrial companies consume large volumes of energy for their production processes. They have to deal with the volatility of prizes, multi-site management and specific taxes. Controlling costs is essential to remain competitive.
.png)
La fin de l'ARENH (Accès Régulé à l'Électricité Nucléaire Historique) marque l'arrêt de la fourniture d'électricité à prix fixe garanti (42 €/MWh).
Dès le 1er janvier 2026, les entreprises sont exposées aux prix de marché, mais deux nouveaux mécanismes de régulation prennent le relais, bien que leur logique soit différente :
Conseil stratégique : Ne comptez pas sur le VNU pour réduire votre facture en 2026 si les marchés restent stables. Auditez vos contrats dès maintenant pour intégrer une part de prix fixe ou explorer des "Power Purchase Agreements" (PPA) pour sécuriser vos coûts sur le long terme.
.png)
La Vente de Nucléaire Universelle (VNU) est le nouveau mécanisme de régulation des prix de l'électricité en France. Contrairement à l'ARENH, il ne s'agit plus d'un volume fixe à prix réduit, mais d'une redistribution financière des revenus excédentaires d'EDF aux consommateurs, basée sur les prix de marché et les coûts de production du nucléaire historique.
.png)
Le calendrier 2026 impose deux échéances majeures :
Pour simplifier ces démarches, vous pouvez centraliser vos données de consommation avec la plateforme Pilott de Sirenergies, garantissant ainsi la conformité de vos rapports réglementaires.
.png)
La Multiannual Energy Programming (PPE) is the strategic management tool for France's energy policy. Established by the 2015 law on energy transition for green growth (LTECV), it serves as a compass for the State, communities and businesses.
Concretely, the PPE sets the priorities for action of the public authorities for the management of all forms of energy on the national territory. It covers a period of ten years, divided into two periods of five years, and must be revised periodically to adapt to technological and economic developments.
It deals with major topics such as:
It is crucial not to confuse it with National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC). While SNBC sets carbon budgets (the ceilings for greenhouse gas emissions by sector), the PPE determines the technical and energy resources to achieve them.
.png)
Le dispositif ARENH a laissé place au VNU (Versement Nucléaire Universel).
Ce changement structurel expose davantage les entreprises aux prix de gros, rendant la gestion des risques plus complexe qu'auparavant.
Il devient alors indispensable de définir une stratégie d'achat d'électricité avec Sirenergies pour lisser l'impact de la volatilité des marchés sur votre budget.
.png)
All businesses, from SMEs to large organizations, can benefit from this service. Les local authorities also find it a lever to better control their budgets.
.png)
This makes it possible to choose the right time to contract, secure your budgets and anticipate increases.
.png)
Instauré en 2017, ce dispositif répond à un enjeu de sécurité nationale.
L'électricité ne se stockant pas à grande échelle, le réseau doit être capable de répondre instantanément à la demande, même lors des pics de froid hivernaux. Le mécanisme incite financièrement les producteurs à maintenir leurs centrales disponibles et les entreprises à réduire leur consommation (effacement) lors de ces périodes critiques.
.png)
Le transport (RTE) correspond aux "autoroutes" de l’électricité. Il s’agit de transporter de très grandes quantités d'énergie sur de longues distances, depuis les centrales de production (nucléaires, barrages, parcs éoliens offshore) vers les régions de consommation.
La distribution (Enedis) s'apparente aux "routes départementales" et aux rues. Elle récupère l'électricité à la sortie du réseau de transport pour la livrer directement chez le client final, en abaissant la tension pour qu'elle soit utilisable par vos appareils.
.png)
The range E @sy is available in four pricing structures to adapt to each risk profile:
.png)
Communities are subject to taxes such as TICFE or TICGN. Sirenergies analyzes invoices, identifies exemption possibilities and fixes possible errors to reduce the tax burden.
.png)
Oui, elle est considérée comme une énergie renouvelable à faibles émissions de gaz à effet de serre.
De plus, l'eau ne subit aucune transformation chimique durant le cycle de production et réintègre son milieu naturel en aval.
Cependant, la construction de barrages nécessite des mesures pour protéger les écosystèmes (débit minimum, passes à poissons).
.png)
Un appel d’offres permet de mettre en concurrence plusieurs fournisseurs d’électricité et de gaz afin d’obtenir des conditions contractuelles optimisées. C’est une démarche transparente qui permet de choisir l’offre la plus adaptée aux besoins budgétaires et techniques de l’organisation.
.png)
The industry is concerned by TICFE, TICGN and other contributions that may represent an important part of invoices. Sirenergies identifies cases of exemption and accompanies the procedures to benefit from them.
.png)
Farms must deal with high seasonal needs (greenhouse heating, irrigation, storage) and high volatility of prizes. Controlling these costs is essential to maintain profitability and secure the business.
.png)
One invoice consists of several elements: consumption, supplier share, taxes and contributions. The analysis of each line makes it possible to identify possible errors and to check the consistency with the signed contract.
.png)
Idéalement entre 6 et 12 mois avant l'échéance, de préférence au printemps ou au début de l'été lorsque la demande est plus faible.
.png)
C'est le levier le plus rapide pour obtenir des résultats visibles. L'éclairage représente environ 40 % de la consommation d'électricité d'une commune.
Passer au LED avec pilotage intelligent permet de réduire la facture de 50 à 80 %, avec un retour sur investissement (ROI) rapide, souvent estimé à 2 ou 3 ans.
.png)
Car les marchés dépendent de facteurs exogènes imprévisibles (géopolitique, météo soudaine, politique) que les modèles basés sur l'historique ne peuvent pas anticiper, tout comme on ne prédit pas le Loto.
.png)
Changing suppliers can allow you to benefit from more competitive prices, adapted services or better contractual conditions. Thanks to sourcing, change is happening without interruption of supply.
.png)
Pas nécessairement sur votre facture finale. Si les prix de gros (le prix de l'énergie brute) ont baissé, les coûts d'acheminement (TURPE) et certaines taxes augmentent, compensant souvent la baisse de la part énergie.
.png)
Tertiary companies are concerned by taxes such as TICFE or TICGN. Sirenergies checks the accuracy of invoices, identifies possible exemptions, and helps correct errors to sustainably reduce costs.
.png)
Some businesses may obtain a partial or total exemption from the TICFE or the TICGN, depending on their activity and energy intensity. The support of an expert makes it possible to identify the eligibility criteria and to put together the file.
.png)
L'abondance de production française tire les prix du marché de gros vers le bas.
En vertu du mécanisme de l'Ordre de Mérite (Merit Order), les centrales les moins coûteuses (nucléaire, renouvelables) couvrent la demande plus souvent, évinçant les centrales à gaz ou charbon plus onéreuses.
Cela multiplie les épisodes de prix bas, voire négatifs, sur le marché spot.
.png)
L'ARENH est remplacé par le VNU (Versement Nucléaire Universel), un mécanisme de redistribution des revenus excédentaires d'EDF en cas de prix très élevés, et par les CAPN, des contrats long terme pour les gros industriels.
.png)
Parce que la puissance souscrite en kVA détermine le prix de l'abonnement et que tout dépassement peut entraîner des surcoûts importants.
.png)
Ce seuil est jugé élevé par rapport aux prévisions actuelles du marché. Si le prix de l'électricité reste en dessous de 78 €/MWh, les entreprises ne bénéficieront d'aucune redistribution. Cela signifie que la protection promise par la réforme pourrait être inexistante dans un marché baissier, d'où l'importance de stratégies de sourcing agiles et d'outils de monitoring comme Pilott.
.png)
En analysant votre courbe de charge pour identifier la puissance réelle appelée, puis en demandant un ajustement à votre fournisseur ou via un expert en énergie.
.png)
The central objective of PPE 3 is to engage France towards carbon neutrality by 2050 by breaking the country's historical dependence on fossil fuels.
Today, approximately 60% of final energy consumption in France still relies on imported oil and natural gas. PPE 3 aims to radically reverse this trend by setting an ambitious target: to reach 60% of carbon-free energies in final consumption by 2030.
To achieve this, PPE 3 pursues three major sub-objectives:
.png)
En 2026, les principaux leviers sont : la renégociation de votre contrat de fourniture au bon moment, l'optimisation de votre tarif d'acheminement (TURPE), la vérification de votre éligibilité aux taux réduits de taxes (Accise), et la réduction de votre consommation (efficacité énergétique, autoconsommation).
.png)
Chaque modèle d'IA répond à un besoin spécifique du cycle d'achat :
L'expertise humaine reste néanmoins indispensable.
.png)
Le processus repose sur l'utilisation de la force de l'eau (énergie cinétique) issue des courants, des chutes d'eau ou des dénivelés. Le fonctionnement suit trois étapes clés :
.png)
Sourcing consists in identifying and analysing the offers of several electricity and gas suppliers. This approach makes it possible to obtain contracts adapted to the consumption profile and budgetary constraints of the company.
.png)
Farms are subject to taxes such as TICFE or TICGN. Sirenergies verifies their application, identifies cases of exemption and accompanies the procedures to reduce the tax burden.
.png)
C'est l'indicateur d'efficacité d'un appareil électrique ; il représente le ratio entre la puissance active (utile) et la puissance apparente (totale).
.png)
These are signals sent by RTE during periods of tension on the electrical network. The Sirenergies tool informs you in real time to anticipate your uses.
.png)
Les profits include a direct reduction in bills, strengthened budgetary forecasting and better control of consumption. Businesses gain visibility and efficiency thanks to adapted tools.
.png)
Sourcing offers better visibility on the market and promotes the selection of competitive contracts. It helps to reduce the risks associated with price volatility and to optimize the energy budget.
.png)
Tertiary companies must manage their energy costs while guaranteeing the comfort of users (offices, shops, services). Consumption is often linked to heating, air conditioning and lighting, which requires precise monitoring to avoid budgetary excesses.
.png)
Among the taxes include TICFE, TICGN, CTA, CJA and TURPE. They represent a significant part of the bill and vary according to consumption profiles. Understanding them well is essential to optimize costs.
.png)
The €/MWh is a price unit used in wholesale markets, while kWh is the unit visible on your bills.
.png)
Même le bâtiment le plus moderne et le mieux isolé perd son efficacité si ses usages sont inadaptés. La technologie et les normes ne suffisent pas : la transition énergétique est avant tout une transformation humaine.
Derrière chaque kilowattheure consommé se cache une habitude.
Un collaborateur sensibilisé comprend qu'ouvrir une fenêtre alors que le chauffage est allumé ou laisser un ordinateur en veille consomme de l'énergie inutilement. En replaçant l'humain au centre de la stratégie de gestion de l'énergie, l'entreprise s'assure que ses équipements performants sont utilisés de manière optimale, garantissant ainsi une rentabilité durable et un impact environnemental réduit.
.png)
Plusieurs leviers existent pour préserver la fiscalité locale :
.png)
Non. L'IA traite la donnée (data processing), mais l'analyste apporte la compréhension du contexte (market sentiment) et la prise de décision stratégique.
.png)
The subscribed power must be calculated according to the consumption profile and uses (heating, industrial processes, tertiary equipment). One fine analysis makes it possible to ensure the adequacy between real need and contract.

