Prompt prices jump on declining wind, nuclear output

The wholesale European spot electricity price soared on Thursday due to a decline in the supply of wind and nuclear energy in the days ahead.

Guro Marie Wyller, LSEG analyst, said: "The outlook for tomorrow is very bullish as wind power output drops from the current generous level."

She added that "a small increase in solar power production and even smaller drops in consumption will not be enough to offset the reduction in wind power."

LSEG data shows that the French baseload day-ahead power rose by 80.4% to 83.0 Euros ($90.74 per megawatt hour) at 0830 GMT.

The German equivalent contract was not exchanged but displayed a range of bids and offers between 84.5-88.4 Euros compared to a closing price on Wednesday at 59.0 Euros.

LSEG data shows that the German wind output will plummet on Friday to 16.9 gigawatts from 32.7 GW predicted for Thursday. Meanwhile, French production is expected to fall to 1.6 GW, from 6.5 GW during the same time period.

The French nuclear capacity dropped by 2 percentage points, to 72%.

The forecast is for mild, rainy weather that will boost hydroelectric production.

Germany's power demand is expected to be 55.6 GW, down 700 MW on Friday. In France, the demand will increase by 1.9 GW, to 48.3 GW.

The German power for the year ahead was up 1.4%, at 86.0 Euros/MWh. In France, 2025 baseload is up 2.0% at 73.05 Euros, due to higher fuel prices and carbon.

The price of European CO2 allowances in December 2024 increased sharply by 2.9%, to 63.77 Euros per metric ton.

The German energy industry association BDEW reported that 56% (of power) was generated by renewable sources in January-September, due primarily to the rapid expansion of wind and photovoltaic power plants.

To boost the transport network accordingly, 280 billion euro of investments will be required up until 2030.

(source: Reuters)