Strong demand lifts day-ahead electricity prices
PARIS, Sept 18 – European spot electricity prices for next-day delivery rose on Monday, buoyed by an expected increase in consumption, while power output from wind and solar sources was mixed.
* The German baseload spot power price for Tuesday delivery gained 1.20 euros, or 2.8 percent, to 42.90 euros ($51) per megawatt-hour (MWh) compared with the price paid on Friday for Monday delivery.
* The French day-ahead prompt price gained 4 percent, or 1.75 euros, to 43.80 euros/MWh, compared with the Monday delivery price.
* Electricity demand in Germany is forecast to rise by nearly 2 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday to over 70 GW, according to Thomson Reuters data.
* In France, consumption will increase by 1.6 GW day-on-day on Tuesday to 51.8 GW, the data showed.
* On the supply side, German wind electricity output is projected to rise by about 1 GW to 3.7 GW, while power output from solar panels will fall slightly by 580 megawatts (MW) to 4.6 GW on Tuesday.
* French nuclear power availability, which accounts for over 75 percent of its electricity needs, fell about a percentage point to 70.44 percent of capacity after EDF’s 900 MW Dampierre 2 reactor was halted for a planned outage.
* The restart of the utility’s 1,300 MW Bellville 1 reactor was delayed until Sept. 21 from Sept. 18, according to grid operator RTE, while the 1,300 MW Cattenom 4 reactor was ramping up to restart later on Monday.
* Germany’s 1,344 MW Gundremmingen C reactor operated by REW dropped its output by up to 600 MW at the weekend.
* Along the forward curve, prices rose on Monday, tracking gains in fuels and carbon emissions prices.
* The German Cal ’18, a benchmark for the European electricity market, gained 0.28 percent to 35.90 euros/MWh.
* The equivalent French contract rose nearly 1 percent to 42.30 euros/MWh.
* December 2017 expiry EU carbon permits, which electricity power generators must hold for their carbon emissions, added 0.29 percent to 6.97 euros a tonne.
* Coal cif Europe for 2018 delivery was steady at $82.50 a tonne.
* In eastern Europe, Czech day-ahead power jumped nearly 6 percent to 43 euros/MWh, while the year-ahead contract slipped 0.83 percent to 35.95 euros/MWh.($1 = 0.8382 euros)
Source: Reuters
