Electricity prices in the EU’s day-ahead spot markets have surged to new highs on Friday amid rising energy demand and lower gas flows from Russia.
According to European Power Exchange data, day-ahead electricity prices in France, Belgium and Germany showed the largest growth. Prices in Europe’s largest economy, Germany, rose from €599.83 per megawatt-hour on Thursday to €699.44 on Friday. The highest prices were recorded in France, where costs surged to €706.32 per megawatt-hour from €630.62 the day before. The prices in that country are now around seven times higher than a year ago. Price spikes were also evident in the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria.
Fresh highs on the power market are becoming a nearly daily occurrence in Europe, with prices on average in the euro area now multiple times higher than the average for the decade between 2010-2020, according to market data.