Why was the Martigues gas plant shut down, and how unprecedented is this event?

The Martigues gas plant in southern France was taken offline late on Thursday because high temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea limited access to cooling water — a heat-related operational constraint. According to the news, this marked 'the first time this summer that a French gas-fired power plant has been taken offline due to the heat', and the last outage at the plant occurred in 2022, underscoring its rarity and the exceptional nature of current conditions.

How much nuclear capacity is currently unavailable in France due to heat-related issues, and what are the main causes?

A total of 4.9 gigawatts of nuclear capacity is unavailable due to high river temperatures, and an additional 2.5 GW is offline due to low river levels — together representing about 14% of France's total power capacity. The article specifies that these outages stem from climate-related constraints: elevated water temperatures impairing reactor cooling (as with Golfech 2 and Bugey 3), and critically low water levels affecting operations (e.g., at Chooz, where low Meuse river levels — governed by a water-sharing agreement with Belgium — have forced a 2.5 GW shutdown).

High temperatures shut French gas plant, adding to heat-related outages

Jul 16, 2026

EDF's 930-megawatt Martigues gas plant went offline due to high sea temperatures limiting cooling water, compounding existing nuclear capacity restrictions caused by heatwaves and drought across France.

reuters

2026-07-16

High temperatures shut French gas plant, adding to heat-related outages

High temperatures shut French gas plant, adding to heat-related outages

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