French spot prices drop on the back of gains in regional wind supplies

The French spot electricity contract fell on Thursday as the wind supply in the region is expected to increase and the demand in Germany is expected to drop sharply with Unity Day.

By 0831 GMT, the French baseload day-ahead was down 19.1% to 42.50 Euros ($49.95) per megawatt hour. The German equivalent contract was not traded with a bid of 60 euros/MWh.

LSEG data revealed that the German wind power production was expected to increase by 9.7 gigawatts, to 18.7 GW. The French wind power production was projected to grow by 3.2 GW, to 6.2 GW.

LSEG analysis shows that German wind energy supply will increase over the weekend, to 44 GW. It then falls on Monday and Tuesday down to 34 GW.

The wind is expected to increase gradually and reach its maximum this weekend, with a potential of 45.8 GW by Sunday morning. Analysts and Engie EnergyScan expect low to negative prices.

LSEG data revealed that the power demand in Germany is expected to drop 7.9 GW to 47.1 GW over the holiday weekend, while French consumption will be down 590 MW at 46.4 GW.

Marcus Eriksson, LSEG analyst, said that with Unity Day in Germany, an increased wind supply and a significant drop in residual load on Friday, exports to Germany are expected.

The French nuclear capacity remained unchanged at 79%.

EDF data revealed that industrial action at EDF's nuclear facilities decreased power output at Saint-Alban 1 by 730MW.

The price of the German baseload for the year ahead was unchanged at 85.10 Euros/MWh. The French 2026 baseload is not traded, and the ask price is 56.50 Euro.

Benchmark European carbon permits increased 0.2%, to 76.48 euro per metric ton. $1 = 0.8509 euro (Reporting and editing by Alison Williams; Forrest Crellin)

(source: Reuters)