Prices of nuclear spot prices fall on increased availability
The European power price fell from its multi-month highs Tuesday, as French nuclear availability increased and residual load is expected to fall.
Karsten Walke, ICIS analyst for power markets, says that in Central-Western Europe the risk of prices being higher than normal is still present, due to the stable forecasts on demand and the generally low expectations regarding wind.
He added that the spikes in day-ahead prices, such as the one on Monday, are only temporary and will not become the norm. Instead, they should fall in line with the forward contracts over the coming weeks and months.
LSEG data shows that German baseload power for the day ahead was down 2.1% to 128.75 Euros ($142.22 per megawatt-hour (MWh) at 0902 GMT.
The equivalent French contract has fallen by 2.8%, to 105 Euro/MWh.
Fabian Ronningen, Rystad analyst, explained that the general rise in prices in the last few weeks is due to a number of factors. The most significant one being the increased price of gas.
He added that the combination of higher gas prices and lower wind generation has resulted in a greater number of hours when gas sets the price.
The data revealed that the German wind output will drop by 1.1 gigawatts to 4.7 GW and French supply by 90 megawatts to 1.6 GW.
LSEG data indicates that the supply of German solar panels will drop by 3.2 GW, to 9.9 GW, on Wednesday.
After the Tricastin 3 reactor was brought back online, French nuclear availability increased by two percentage points to 73%.
EDF, the French nuclear operator, raised its projections for 2024 power output from their reactors from 340 to 360 terawatt-hours (TWh), citing a better-than expected performance by its nuclear fleet during the past year.
LSEG data show that power consumption in Germany will rise by 130 MW on Wednesday to reach 56.5 GW while French demand should fall 400 MW, to 44.6 GW.
The German power contract for 2025 was down 3.7% at 80 euros/MWh, while the French baseload contract dropped by 1.8% to 93.80 Euros/MWh.
The European CO2 allowances in December 2024 dropped 1.5%, to 69.42 euro per metric ton. $1 = 0.9053 Euros (Reporting and Editing by David Goodman).
(source: Reuters)
