Spot power prices gain on forecast drop in renewables
PARIS – European spot electricity prices for day-ahead delivery posted strong gains on Tuesday supported by forecasts for a sharp drop in wind and solar power generation.
* The German baseload electricity contract for Wednesday delivery soared nearly 30 percent or over 11 euros to 48.75 euros ($57.37) a megawatt-hour (MWh).
* The French spot electricity contract for Wednesday delivery was at 56.60 euros/MWh, up 5.61 percent or 3 euros compared with its previous close.
* German wind power generation is projected to tumble by 5.8 gigawatts (GW) to just over 3 GW on Wednesday, according to Thomson Reuters data. Solar power supply will fall by 870 megawatts (MW).
* In France, wind electricity output will decline by 260 MW day-on-day on Wednesday to 1.2 GW, while solar supply will drop by 190 MW to 780 MW, the data showed.
* German electricity demand is expected to rise by 230 MW on Wednesday to 72.4 GW, while in France, consumption will slip by 180 MW to 49.2 GW.
* French nuclear power availability is seen stable at 63.80 percent of capacity. However, the restart of EDF’s 900 MW Cruas 1 reactor has been delayed by two weeks to Nov. 10 from Oct. 27, according to French grid operator RTE.
* RTE did not give reasons for the postponement which added to the growing list of delayed reactor restarts that has stoked fears that France could face tight nuclear power supply in the weeks ahead.
* Twenty-one out of France’s 58 nuclear reactors operated by state-controlled utility EDF are offline for maintenance or reviews ordered by French nuclear watchdog ASN.
* The head of the watchdog said on Monday that safety levels at nuclear power plants globally were worrying, and although there were no immediate dangers, there were systemic risks that should be dealt with urgently.
* Along the year-ahead power curve, contracts were supported by fuels and carbon emission permits
* Germany’s Cal’18 baseload rose 0.14 percent to 36.55 euros/MWh.
* The French 2018 contract gained 0.47 percent to 42.60 euros/MWh.
* December-expiry EU carbon permits rose 0.68 percent to 7.41 euros a tonne. Coal cif Europe for 2018 delivery was untraded. ($1 = 0.8497 euros)
Source: Reuters
