The electricity market is and will remain one of extremes. In a few days, the electricity price fell by a factor of four and then skyrocketed again just as quickly. The windy weather but also the rain of the past few days helped to push down the electricity price. In the meantime, politicians are struggling with the high energy prices. For the time being, however, the policymakers mainly cause additional uncertainty in the energy market.
Electricity prices tumbled this weekend. On Saturday 17 September, the EPEX Spot closed at €100,78 per MWh. That is the lowest price since early June. A few days earlier on Wednesday, September 14, the EPEX was still at €417,30 per MWh. The dip over the weekend, however, appears to be short-lived. The price on the EPEX has now risen again today (Tuesday 20 September) to €350,43 per MWh.
The experts do not agree on the cause of the price drop in the electricity market. In any case, the weather plays a role. The autumnal weather with showers meant that there was less supply of electricity generated by solar panels. This was offset by above-average production of wind turbines. That extra supply of electricity generated by wind pushed the electricity price down. What also helps is the increased water level of the Rhine. This facilitates the transport of coal from the seaports to the power plants further inland. Although the prices of transport on the Rhine are not yet at pre-drought levels, the price of transport is beginning to fall.
Many words no detailed plans
Politics causes additional uncertainty in the energy and electricity market. Plans were presented from Europe last week in which the Commission announced its intention to intervene in the market. This includes setting price limits and additional taxing energy companies that profit from the high energy prices. How and what exactly is done remains unclear. For the time being, the presence of the undeveloped plans will only cause more uncertainty in the already highly volatile electricity market.
The Dutch government is also intervening in the energy market. The NOS announced yesterday that there will be a maximum price for electricity and gas from 1 January. This price ceiling only applies to consumers and to average energy consumption. For companies, there is not yet any compensation for the extremely increased energy costs.