Christmas electricity prices surpass €100/MWh in Europe
AleaSoft Energy Forecasting says weekly average electricity prices exceeded €100 ($104.10)/MWh across most major European markets last week, largely driven by rising gas and CO2 prices.
December 31, 2024 Patrick Jowett
Most major European electricity markets recorded price increases during the fourth week of December, according to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting.
It said average weekly prices increased in the Belgian, British, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish markets. In each of these markets, weekly averages exceeded €100/MWh, with the Italian market recording the highest at €121.55/MWh. The exception was the Nordic market, where the weekly average electricity price fell to €19.71/MWh.
Electricity prices rose last week despite lower demand across most markets due to reduced work activity over the Christmas holidays. AleaSoft attributed the increases to lower wind energy production and higher gas and CO₂ prices, which closed at €47.73/MWh, up 8.2% from the previous week.
For the first week of 2025, AleaSoft said it expects electricity prices to drop in the British and German markets, due to a recovery in wind production. However, it predicts further price increases in the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish markets.
AleaSoft also said that solar energy production increased last week in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The Italian market even set a December record for solar production, reaching 53 GWh on Dec. 29.
This week, AleaSoft said it expects further increases in solar energy production in Germany and Italy, but a decrease in Spain.