Gas prices were relatively stable this week due to colder weather, after initially falling considerably. Electricity prices rose due to low solar and wind energy yields.
After last week's decline, the gas price is currently quite stable. On Tuesday, September 3, gas was traded for €37,19 per megawatt hour. On Wednesday, September 4, the price dropped to €35,80. After that, the price rose again. On Monday, September 9, the gas price was back to square one at a price of €37,16 per megawatt hour.
Until the beginning of this week, the price of gas dropped significantly. While demand is still on the low side, the supply from Norway was particularly strong. In addition, the gas reserves are well filled. The filling level is currently at 92,8%, which means that for a long time there was little reason for an increase. The higher gas price is also reflected in the filling speed. In the past week, the speed at which the gas reserves are replenished has dropped from around 3.000 gigawatts per day to a pace of between 600 and 1200 gigawatts per day.
This week, however, things changed. This is largely due to worse weather. In the coming weeks, it will not only rain, but it will also become considerably cooler in Northern Europe. As a result, colder than average weather is expected for the next seven to ten days. This will at least lead to gas-fired power stations working less efficiently, but in northern countries such as Scotland it could also mean that the heating is already being turned on here and there.
On top of that, importing additional gas is still expensive. Meanwhile, Asian LNG prices are still close to their peak. Although the price is now below the late August peak of $14,07 per MMBtu, the last known level of €13,79 on September 6 is still very high.
Electricity price over summer day
Meanwhile, the electricity price was quite high at the beginning of this week, but the price dropped significantly at the end of the week. At the beginning of the week, the electricity price was above €100 per megawatt hour, with a peak of €130,92 per megawatt hour. On Sunday, September 8, the electricity price was at its lowest, at a level of €66,73.
Despite the lower gas price, the electricity price was considerably higher at the beginning of this week. A relatively low share from renewable sources caused higher prices. In total, the combined share of solar and wind energy decreased.
In particular, in the first three days of last week, prices were high with a quotation of over €100 per megawatt hour. On those days, the production of wind energy was virtually zero, which meant that the market was mainly dependent on gas at night. The peak price on Tuesday occurred when the sun intensity was also disappointing and on Wednesday, the production from solar energy was also disappointing. The last working days of the week, the wind force increased, which caused the prices to decrease again. However, the yields from renewable sources decreased in the weekend, which meant that the prices remained at a reasonable level.
Prices are decreasing
Incidentally, it is not surprising that the generation from renewable sources decreases somewhat in this phase. The number of hours of sunshine decreases considerably at this time of year, which reduces the production of solar panels. However, it is usually still a bit early for autumnal wind, although this will change quickly. The expectation is that prices will decrease somewhat in the coming weeks. The cold weather that pushes up the gas price will probably cause an increase in wind. In general, this ensures that the electricity price is constantly depressed.