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Two major developments in the electricity market since October 1, 2025

10/23/2025

A silent revolution is taking place in the electricity market

The rules of the game are changing. Since October 1, every quarter of an hour counts in the valorization of electricity produced in France. Two regulatory adjustments: the publication of prices every 15 minutes and the establishment of a threshold of —0.10 €/MWh for negative prices. These changes are transforming the way in which renewable energy producers interact with the market.

These changes, resulting from theOrder of September 8, 2025 published by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty , mark a key step towards a more accurate, equitable and sustainable system. For producers as well as for energy aggregators, they pave the way for optimized management and better economic stability of installations.

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  1. Prices now published every 15 minutes

Until now, SPOT prices have been established on an hourly basis. From now on, they are calculated every 15 minutes, or four prices per hour.
This evolution allows:

  • a more detailed assessment of producers' incomes,
  • better management of local production,
  • and an optimization of the management of installations, in particular photovoltaic installations.

Concrete examples:

  1. Take the case of a photovoltaic installation under a SPOT contract.
    From now on, prices are published every 15 minutes. This means that the power plant's output is adjusted in real time according to the market price signal.
  • At T0, if the SPOT price becomes negative, the power plant stops for the next 15 minutes.
  • At T0 + 15 minutes, a new price is published:
    • If the price remains negative, the power plant remains shut down.
    • If the price becomes positive again, it automatically restarts.

In concrete terms, this means that producers will be able to adjust their production according to the real evolution of market prices, thus strengthening the economic sustainability of their installations.

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  1. Let's take another example, this time of a hydroelectric power plant under contract from Remuneration supplement (CR).
    With this new rule, the stop signal no longer depends on the hourly rate, but on the average of the previous four quarters of an hour.
  • At T0, if the average CR price for the last 4 quarters of an hour is negative, production must be interrupted for 60 minutes.
  • At T0 + 60 minutes, this average is calculated again:
    • If it remains negative, the power plant remains shut down.
    • If it returns positive, the power plant can resume production.

This operation makes network management more stable and limits the excessive restarts of installations, while allowing a more realistic assessment of market conditions.

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  1. A new threshold for compensation awards for negative prices

Second major change: the establishment of a threshold of —0.10 €/MWh for compensation awards linked to negative prices.
From now on:

  • producers will be able to continue to produce above this threshold while benefiting from a bonus when they have a supplementary remuneration contract;
  • they will maintain a valuation at the SPOT price even if production continues during a period of negative prices;
  • a tolerance of 1% of installed capacity (and up to 10% for hydroelectricity) is also introduced.

According to the DGEC, the reference market price will now be calculated as the simple average of the four clearing prices published over the hour, rounded to two decimal places. A fairer method that is representative of real market behavior.

In other words, producers now have greater freedom of control: they can continue to produce even in periods of low prices, while maintaining the benefit of the premium (unless they request otherwise).

Without specific action, the power plants will remain operated according to the current contract, i.e. with an automatic shutdown below €0 if the threshold option is not activated.

A step towards a more accurate and more sustainable model

These adjustments are part of the continuity of the French energy transition, which promotes the flexibility and responsiveness of producers.
For players in the sector, this means:

  • an even finer management of the electricity mix,
  • better forecasting of market signals,
  • and more equitable valorization of renewable production.


Chez Bohr Energie, we support each producer in this phase of change to ensure intelligent and balanced management of their production.

‍Do you need personalized support or need to discuss it?
Contact our teams right now.

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