The electricity price was quite high at the beginning of last week, but the price has now normalized somewhat. The high price followed a high demand for gas to produce electricity. In addition, the International Energy Agency (EIA) warns of a shortage of trained personnel in the energy sector. The electricity price was quite high at the beginning of last week, but the price has now normalized somewhat. The high price followed a high demand for gas for the production of electricity. In addition, the International Energy Agency (EIA) warns of shortages of trained personnel in the energy sector.
Electricity prices varied considerably this week. On Tuesday, November 14, electricity was still trading for €69,17 per megawatt hour. On Friday, November 17, the electricity price rose to €120,85. Over the weekend the price dropped again, to €38,19 on Sunday, November 19.
The higher rate at the beginning of this week appears to be directly related to lower wind power. Last week, 26,7% of all electricity was generated by wind energy. The week before that was still 42%. And the production of solar energy was also lower. Last week, 5,6% of the electricity was generated by solar energy, compared to 7,5% the week before. This results in significantly higher gas consumption, especially concentrated in the middle of the week. Two weeks ago, only 28,1% of our electricity was generated with gas. Last week that percentage rose to 41,6%. Changing weather conditions once again proved to be decisive for the electricity market. On Thursdays, a rate of €17 was charged between 00:18 PM and 00:181,22 PM. This is the highest amount in November.
It seems that gas is finally being withdrawn from European reserves. On November 7, 99,8% of the Dutch storage facility was still full, but that percentage has now dropped to 98,6%. In the meantime, the supply still seems reasonably safe. At the moment, the supply from Norway is again at its maximum capacity. On the other hand, the wet weather in Northern Europe provides a stabilizing factor. In Norway, water reservoirs are amply filled, allowing the country to supply a lot of cheap electricity from hydropower. In addition, the production of French nuclear power stations is above the five-year average. As a result, the demand for gas for electricity production is lower, especially in Germany, as these countries can export cheap electricity to our eastern neighbors.
Tight labor market
In addition, the International Energy Agency (EIA) warns of a shortage in the labor market with regard to our goals and ambitions to green the global electricity grid. According to the agency, there is clear growth in the number of jobs in the energy sector due to the energy transition. The growth is mainly in the solar energy sector. Since 2019, the number of jobs in that branch has increased by 4 million. This is followed by the battery sector, which has 1 million more jobs. In addition, the number of jobs in mining for critical minerals increased by 180.000 people.
This seems like a significant increase, but an EIA survey among 160 energy companies shows that the number of people obtaining a diploma for the energy sector lags behind future demand. In fact, according to companies in the sector, the biggest challenge to expanding renewable sources is finding trained workers. According to the report, companies in the sector have now started internal training, but that is certainly not an option for everyone.