Cold weather increases prompt prices due to a fall in renewable supplies

The European spot electricity prices increased on Wednesday, as the cold weather prompted demand for heating and illumination and a fall in solar and wind power production was expected.

The Atlantic coast of Europe was hit by the first named storm of the year, causing more snow and ice to fall.

LSEG data and that of the French utility EDF indicated that Germany would be importing electricity on a day-to-day basis, but France's wind and nuclear power would increase.

LSEG data shows that German baseload day-ahead gained 31.5% to 133.5 euros ($155.95 per megawatt hour) at 0940 GMT.

The French equivalent contract was 1.6% higher at 109.0 Euro/MWh.

LSEG data revealed that German wind power production is expected to drop to 19.3 gigawatts per day after 29.8 GW was expected on Wednesday. Meanwhile, French wind 'power should increase to 13.6 GW on Thursday, from 11.3 GW.

The French nuclear power capacity was 88% overnight, an increase of one percentage point.

The power demand in Germany is expected to increase by 100 MW the next day to reach 62.5GW.

France's high Wednesday demand of 81.0 GW was expected to drop to 73.1 GW by Thursday, due to its heavy reliance on electric heating.

The German baseload for the year ahead was up by 0.7% to 83.2 Euro/MWh.

After its previous close of 48.7 Euros/MWh, the same French year-ahead positions was not traded.

The benchmark contract on the European carbon market increased by 0.4%, to 88.42 Euros per metric ton.

The Emissions Trading Authority, DEHSt, announced that Germany will earn a record amount of 21.4 billion euros from the sale of permits for CO2 in 2025. This is 16% higher than the 2024 figure. The money is used to finance energy?transitions and climate protection measures.

After a suspected arson by leftist activists on a Berlin power station last Saturday, tens of thousands households will have their electricity restored on Wednesday. Reporting by Vera Eckert, Editing by Louise Heavens. $1 = 0.8560 Euros

(source: Reuters)