German wind downturn boosts spot prices
The European immediate prices were lifted on Tuesday by the expectation of a sharp decline in German wind energy generation. This will turn the country into an importer the next day.
The German signal is positive. LSEG analyst Xiulan Xiulan said that wind supply has decreased significantly. He also cited rising German demand.
LSEG data shows that the French baseload price for the day was 69 euros ($80.47 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of 0740 GMT. This is a 39.4% increase.
The German day-ahead range was 119-124 Euros/MWh, with a closing price of 63.3 Euros.
LSEG data shows that Germany's wind power output was 17.6 gigawatts on Wednesday. This is down more than half from a projected output of 36.5 GW Tuesday. France will also likely lose 4.1 GW, bringing its output to 5.7 GW.
The French nuclear operator EDF's overnight data showed that the availability of reactors has increased by 7 percentage points since Monday. It now stands at 79%.
The signals for power demand were also mixed on the two main markets.
Germany is expected to increase its power by 600 MW per day, mainly due to falling temperatures. France will see a decrease of 400 MW, to 46.5 GW as temperatures in the region rise.
The German baseload contract for the year ahead was down 1% at 87.1 Euros/MWh, while its French counterpart was quoted at the same price, but not traded, after closing on 56.5 Euros/MWh.
On Monday, the EU Energy Ministers backed a plan to eliminate Russian gas and oil imports into the EU by January 2028.
Verivox, the German consumer portal for retail stores, said that an estimated 6.5 billion euro subsidy from the state to reduce electricity grid costs would likely result in a 6% reduction of end-consumer price starting January.
The average should be 32.33 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Grid costs, which account for more than one-quarter of all household bills, have risen by 47% from 2020 to 2025. $1 = 0.8575 Euros (Reporting and Editing by Subhranshu Sahu).
(source: Reuters)
