During the fourth week of August, electricity prices in most major European markets fell compared to the previous week. The only exceptions were the MIBEL market in Spain and Portugal, where prices saw modest increases of 0.7% and 1.0%, respectively. Meanwhile, Italy’s IPEX market recorded the smallest decline, with prices dropping by 5.3%. On the other end of the spectrum, the Nord Pool market in the Nordic countries experienced the steepest price drop, with a significant 65% decrease. In other markets analyzed by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting, price reductions ranged from 29% in the UK’s N2EX market to 39% in the Netherlands’ EPEX SPOT market.
During this week, most European electricity markets saw weekly averages below €65/MWh. However, the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian markets were exceptions, with averages of €82.34/MWh, €82.60/MWh, and €123.31/MWh, respectively. The Nordic market registered the lowest weekly average at €7.42/MWh. In the other analyzed markets, prices ranged from €43.45/MWh in France to €60.97/MWh in Germany.
Regarding hourly prices, most European markets experienced negative prices on Sunday, August 25. The Italian market stood out as the exception, not registering any negative prices during the fourth week of August. In contrast, the British market recorded negative prices on August 21, 22, and 23. Additionally, the German, Belgian, French, Dutch, and Nordic markets saw negative prices on August 24. The Dutch market registered the lowest hourly price of the week, at €44.92/MWh, on Saturday, August 24, between 14:00 and 15:00.
The decline in European electricity market prices during the week of August 19 was driven by a combination of factors. These included a drop in the weekly average gas price and increased wind energy production in most analyzed markets. Solar energy production also rose in the French and Italian markets, while electricity demand fell in Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands. In contrast, the MIBEL market saw price increases due to decreased wind and solar energy production in the Iberian Peninsula and rising demand in Spain, AleaSoft reports.
