German spot prices rise on lower renewable supplies

On Thursday, the German prompt electricity price increased as wind and solar power generation was expected to decline.

Emeric de Vigan, Kpler analyst, said that the market is in a typical September, where renewables are low. The snowmelt has finished, so hydro generation will be lower. Solar is also on its way down, and there's currently not much wind or autumn storms.

He added that this causes tensions at peak times, when expensive units must ramp up, and it explains the high prices. However, it is not an indicator of winter high prices.

LSEG data revealed that the German baseload electricity contract for Friday had increased by 14.5% to 79 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh). The French equivalent contract fell 5.9% to 80 Euro/MWh.

LSEG data indicated that the German wind power production was expected to drop by 2.9 GW this Friday to 24.1 GW while French output is projected to decline 940 megawatts to 1.9 GW.

Data showed that the German solar supply is expected to drop by 1.5 GW, to 11.6GW, on Friday.

The French nuclear capacity remained unchanged at 71%.

The French energy company EDF announced that its technical teams were performing checks on the Flamanville 3 reactor after it stopped automatically just one day after production began. Flamanville 3 had been plagued by delays and setbacks for 12 years.

The data revealed that power consumption in Germany is expected to drop by 370 MW on Friday to 56.2 GW while in France, demand will be down by 450 MW at 43.3 GW.

Marcus Eriksson, LSEG analyst, forecasts that Germany will be a net importer on Thursday except for the hours surrounding the morning peak, and in the evening.

The German power for 2025 was up by 0.3% at 77.10 Euros/MWh, while the French baseload price rose 0.3% to 90.60 Euros/MWh.

The European CO2 allowances in December 2024 dropped 0.6%, to 66.62 euro per metric ton. (Reporting and editing by Alan Barona; Forrest Crellin)

(source: Reuters)