French spot prices soar on lower wind power outlook

On Thursday, French prompt power surged as the day-ahead output of wind power was only a third of what it is now in Germany, and a fifth less in France. Solar power supply also decreased.

"Renewable supplies continue to fall in Germany, which is a bullish sign," said LSEG Analyst RiccardoParviero. He added that the availability of gas and coal plants in the area was also increasing.

LSEG data shows that French baseload electricity for the day ahead was up 38.9% compared to its previous close of 73.3 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) at 0750 GMT.

The German equivalent contract has not traded since Wednesday, when it settled at 70.5 Euros.

The wind power generation in Germany will fall from the 22.5 GW predicted for Thursday to 6.6 GW on Friday, while the volume projected in France is expected to drop to 3.8 GW, from 4.8 GW during the same period.

The French nuclear capacity remained at 71% installed total.

The temperature in France is expected to drop by more than 2 degrees Celsius per day, resulting in an increase in demand of 500 MW on Friday to 46.2 GW.

Demand is expected to drop by 200 MW, or 56.8 GW, as the average temperature in Germany drops by 0.5 degrees.

The German baseload forward curve did not see any price changes, but the asking price was higher than the previous close at 86.95 Euros/MWh.

After closing at 74.4 Euros/MWh, the equivalent French contract also was not traded.

The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets rose 0.2%, to 63.17 Euros per metric ton.

According to LevelTen, the price of green electricity in European power purchase agreements decreased by 12.4% compared to the same period in 2023. Vera Eckert, Mrigank Dhaniwala (Reporting and editing by Mrigank)

(source: Reuters)