EUROPE POWER-rapidly mixed, weather gets milder, demand eases | Popgen Tech

FRANKFURT, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Day-ahead prices were mixed in the European wholesale electricity market on Monday as temperatures rose after a cold snap and consumption was already easing ahead of the holiday season that starts this coming weekend.

German delivery baseload was at 186 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) at 1025 GMT, 58.2% below the price paid for Monday.

The equivalent French contract traded at 199 euros and was 2.1% higher after an initially weaker start.

Power demand in Germany is set to drop by 2.8 gigawatts (GW) from Monday’s levels on Tuesday to 59.5 GW, while consumption in France is expected to fall by 4.1 GW to 59.7 GW, Refinitiv Eikon data shown.

Temperatures in Germany are seen rising 2.9 degrees Celsius to 5.4C, while the average temperature in France is predicted to rise 1.5C to 11C.

French nuclear power availability was up two percentage points at 68% of available capacity as of Friday.

Utility EDF said both the Penly 2 and Golfech 1 reactors would add months to their outages until June 11, compared with previously targeted completions by the end of January and mid-Feb.

Along the curve, German baseload for 2023 delivery was untraded to close at 301 euros while the same French position fell 2.1% to 335 euros/MWh.

Renewable energy accounted for 46.9% of German power consumption in 2022, up 4.9 percentage points from a year earlier.

A reform of the European Union’s electricity market next year could consider extending an existing emergency cap on non-gas-fired power plants’ revenue to be more permanent, a draft document showed.

Policymakers from France and Germany said they would be particularly cautious about the proposal.

EU negotiators reached a deal on Sunday to overhaul the bloc’s carbon market with stricter rules.

Last-minute talks were underway in Brussels on Monday in an attempt to agree a cap on gas prices, dividing opinion across the bloc as it seeks to tame the energy crisis. (Reporting by Vera Eckert, additional reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)