Storm Goretti increases spot electricity prices in Western Europe
The intraday price of power across Western European markets increased on Friday, as Storm Goretti caused power outages and problems with power generation equipment.
EPEX spot data revealed that the average "baseload" price for Germany was 90.44 euro ($105.31), while France's price was 87.35 euro/MWh at 1207 GMT.
LSEG data showed that this is higher than the closing spot price on Thursday of 74.75 euro/MWh or 67.75 euro respectively. Sabrina Kernbichler, an Energy Aspects analyst, says that power demand in Germany was higher than expected on Friday due to Storm Goretti, and this has pushed up the intraday price.
UK baseload electricity for the day-ahead was up 3.5 pounds, at 87.50 pound/MWh. Kernbichler stated that "UK wind production has been lower today than initial TSO predictions, which is supporting intraday price."
The French nuclear power capacity fell by four percentage points to 88% after the Flamanville 3 reactor was shut down in an unplanned shutdown.
EDF, the plant's operator, said that Flamanville stopped supplying electricity after a high voltage line was lost on Friday. Only authorized support teams were allowed on site in the extreme weather conditions.
Enedis, a French power company, said that 320,000 households in France are still without electricity, mainly in the Normandy and Brittany regions. The analysts at Engie's EnergyScan said that wind generation in Germany will exceed 40 gigawatts during the day. In France and Spain, each country produced about 20 GW. Analysts said that the increase in renewable output coincided with an outlook for milder temperatures, which reduced heating demand.
LSEG data shows that conditions are expected to return more?normally on Monday. German wind power 'generation' is expected to drop by 18.6 GW and reach 29.6 GW. French output will be expected at 15 GW - a 5.1 GW decrease.
The German baseload position for the year ahead was up by 0.4% to 83.11 Euros/MWh. In France, it was up by 1% to 49 Euros/MWh.
The benchmark carbon contract on the European market gained 0.4% to 88.53 Euros per metric tonne.
(source: Reuters)
