LAUSR

The pandemic’s impacts on European electricity markets have been enormous, especially in countries with abundant low marginal costs of production like France. This article provides an in-depth quantitative study of the impacts of the crisis on the French electricity sector. During the first lockdown episode, France has experienced unparalleled reductions of electricity demand (−12%) and wholesale prices (−45%) resulting in gross revenue losses of 1.3 billion € (−47%) for market participants. This paper argues that the observed market outcomes during the crisis are somehow indicative of outcomes in a future with abundant renewable power, where prices will fall in a more sustainable way.