Imports of German spot are expected to increase on Thursday

On Wednesday, the German spot electricity rate for Thursday increased as renewable supplies were seen to be decreasing and imports expected. Meanwhile, neighbouring countries celebrated Victory Day.

German baseload day-ahead added 1.3%, to 97.75 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), by 840 GMT.

The French baseload for Friday, which was the first working day following the Victory Day holiday weekend, was not traded with a range of bids and asks between 15 euros and 20 euros.

Natalia Kubaszek, LSEG analyst, said that the German residual load was slightly higher on Thursday as solar and wind energy output is expected to decline day-on-day. This will more than offset a slight drop in consumption. Imports are also expected all day long.

LSEG data indicated that the German wind power production was expected to remain flat at 7.4 gigawatts, while French wind power is projected to fall by 1.8 GW (to 3.8 GW), LSEG said.

LSEG data shows that solar power production in Germany has decreased by 480 Megawatts (MW), to 12.7 GW.

LSEG data revealed that the power demand in Germany is expected to drop 210 MW on Thursday from its level of Wednesday to 54.3 GW. In France, consumption will fall 4.9 GW down to 38.6 GW because of the holiday.

The French nuclear capacity increased by one percentage point, to 66%, as two reactors returned and outweighed Gravelines 1, which was taken offline for unplanned maintenance.

Operator EDF stated in an online message that the Gravelines 1 reactor was taken offline on Tuesday, in accordance with safety and protection features of the reactor. Operators are now conducting checks to determine the cause of the incident.

The German baseload for the year ahead was 0.1% lower at 85.75 Euros/MWh. The French 2026 baseload is untraded, with a range from 62 to 64 euros.

Benchmark European carbon permits increased 0.4% to 69.57 euro per metric tonne. (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman; Forrest Crellin)

(source: Reuters)