German spot price drops by 200 Euros on cold, still weather
German spot power prices for Tuesday increased on the expectation of a sharp decline in wind power supplies, while colder temperatures will increase demand for heating.
The French baseload electricity price dropped over the weekend, despite the increase in nuclear power.
The spot power price is much more volatile now than it was before the energy crisis of 2022, and the average is higher than the prices in 2019. Nic Goldberg, partner at Colombus Consulting, said that.
He said, "What's happening to the German spot rate this morning is a rise in volatility."
LSEG data show that the German baseload day-ahead power price at 0955 GMT was 209.75 Euros ($241.82) per Megawatt-hour, an increase of 58.4% over Friday's closing price for Monday delivery.
Data showed that the equivalent French price for Monday delivery was 73.50 Euros/MWh. This is a 5.6% decrease from the Friday price.
LSEG data indicated that on the supply side German wind power production was expected to drop by 13.3 gigawatts, to 5.9 GW, while French wind energy production is expected to remain unchanged at 10.9 GW.
LSEG data shows that the German demand for power is expected to increase by 1.5 GW Wednesday to 65.7 GW while France's is predicted to grow 2.9 GW up to 66.5 GW.
On Tuesday, temperatures are expected to drop by up to 2 degrees Celsius in France and by up to 0.8 degrees Celsius for Germany.
Analysts at Engie’s EnergyScan say temperatures will remain below normal until Thursday, before increasing gradually. A more marked warming is expected over the weekend, and temperatures should return to average next week.
The French nuclear energy availability increased by four percentage points, to 85%.
Gas prices lowered the German baseload contract by 1.3% to 87.85 Euro/MWh.
The French position for the year ahead had a bid of 50.50 euro.
The benchmark contract for the European carbon market 2025 fell 0.8%, to 79.75 euro per metric ton.
On Monday, the European benchmark gas contract fell under 30 euros for first time since 2024. This was due to the forecast of warmer than normal weather over the next two week and the ongoing diplomatic efforts to stop the war in Ukraine. Reporting by Forrest Crellin, Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri.
(source: Reuters)
