French baseload prices jump as the wind is expected to decrease, German prices lag
The French baseload contract increased on Tuesday as a result of expectations for lower wind power, higher demand, and a strike in the country's coal-fired power plants. Meanwhile, it is expected that the German market will?fall.
LSEG data shows that the French day-ahead power contract jumped by 30.6% at 0929 GMT to?128 euros ($151.91) a megawatt hour.
The German equivalent contract increased by 0.9% to 134 Euro/MWh.
LSEG data shows that German wind power production is expected to increase by 8.3 gigawatts to 24 GW on Wednesday, while French wind generation is expected to drop by 8.6 GW down to?3.5 GW.
LSEG data shows that power consumption in Germany will be down by 320 MW on Wednesday to?68.1 GW. In France, demand is expected to increase 1.8 GW for a total of 67.3?GW.
Storm Ingrid will bring a short cold snap, wet and snowy weather conditions to much of Europe. Temperatures in France are expected to drop to minus one degree Celsius on Tuesday, before rising.
The French nuclear energy availability dropped two percentage points, to 88%.
The French utility has announced that a strike that disrupts coal deliveries to the last coal plant in the country will reduce output until further notice.
The coal industry in France is marginal. It's power generation is dominated by renewables and nuclear. Coal-fired plants are used as a backup source of electricity on days when temperatures are particularly low and the renewables?generation?is low.
According to RTE, the transmission system operator, in 2024 it was equivalent to 0.1% of total electricity produced by the country.
On Friday, the German baseload price for the year ahead was down by 0.1% to 85.4?euros/MWh. The equivalent French price fell 0.7% to 49.55 euros/MWh.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets?rose by 1.4%, to 88.34 Euros per metric ton.
Mind Energy analysts noted that despite the contract recording losses on Monday due to the weak demand for the latest EU Carbon Permit auction, the volatility is still high because of the cold weather and the geopolitical uncertainties.
(source: Reuters)
