The first half of 2023 saw a normalization of energy prices, with natural gas prices and electricity exchange prices returning to pre-Ukraine war levels but still above 2021 prices. The impact of the nuclear phase-out, with the shutdown of the last nuclear power plants Isar2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim2 in April 2023, has been absorbed well. Factors such as increasing production from renewable sources, weather and higher production in neighboring European countries are significantly stronger than the effect of shutting down the three nuclear plants. The approximately 30 TWh from the reactors was offset by reduced exports, increased imports, and the addition of solar and wind capacity.

Load was 234 TWh in the first half of the year (H1 2023: 250 TWh), continuing the declining trend. Electricity production decreased from 252 TWh to 225 TWh compared to the first half of 2022. Exports of electricity to France decreased after the French nuclear reactors came back online. Exports to Austria and Switzerland decreased due to the countries’ higher in-house generation and lower consumption. In the first quarter of 2023, more electricity than usual was imported because electricity prices in neighbor