Indeed, during the 2003 heat wave, Électricité de France, which operates 58 reactors – the majority on ecologically sensitive rivers like the Loire – was compelled to buy power from neighboring countries on the European spot market. The state-owned EDF, which normally exports power, ended up paying 10 times the price of domestic power, incurring a financial cost of €300 million.
事实上，在2003年热浪期间，拥有58座核反应堆——其中大部分位于卢瓦尔河这样的生态敏感流域——的法国电力集团只能被迫通过欧洲现货市场从邻国购买电力。这间以往都以电力出口商面目出现的国营企业最后只能以超出本国电价10倍的价钱购买电力，并为此支付了合共3亿欧元。