Falling temperatures and lower wind boost spot prices
The European spot electricity prices rose on Thursday due to lower wind production across wholesale markets in Europe and higher usage in France. This market is more exposed to the electric heating demand during winter.
Guromarie Wyller, LSEG analyst, said: "France... is experiencing a bullish effect due to the drop in wind power production and an increase in consumption as a result of the colder temperatures."
The German baseload day-ahead at 0925 GMT increased 1.1% over the previous close, trading at 139.0 Euros ($144.63).
The French equivalent for Friday delivery increased 16.4% to 128 Euros/MWh.
The German wind energy output is expected to decline to 14.0 gigawatts on Friday, from 17.2 GW last Thursday. In France, wind production will drop to 4.2 GW compared to 6.2 GW during the same time period.
The French nuclear capacity has increased by one percentage point, to 85%.
EDF, the operator of the Saint-Esteve hydroelectric plant in south France, said that capacity could be lost due to flooding at the Durance Valley, which is a 140 megawatt (MW), hydroelectric plant.
The demand for electricity in France was expected to increase by 2.7 GW, reaching 66.3 GW, while Germany should experience a decline of 0.7 GW, arriving at 61.6 GW.
The German baseload contract for 2026 was up 1% at 68.0 Euros, while the French baseload contract for 2026 was down 1.3% at 95.8 euros/MWh.
The benchmark European carbon permits were set at 82.95 euro per metric ton.
The price of European power purchase agreements for green electricity dropped by 11% in fourth quarter 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023, and by 0.3% compared to the third quarter 2024. This was according the price tracking platform LevelTen.
Citing a blended index of wind and solar energy, the price for the fourth quarter was 75.97 euro/MWh. The continuing trend towards lower PPA prices in Europe is a welcome development for corporate renewable energy purchasers. $1 = 0.9611 Euros (Reporting and editing by Tomaszjanowski, Forrest Crellin added reporting).
(source: Reuters)
