Heatwave triggers electricity price surge across Central Europe

Frontier Economics, a UK-based economic consultancy, has reported sharp electricity price increases across Central Europe during the ongoing summer heatwave. Power prices have reached €517 per MWh (~ $610) in Belgium and the Netherlands, and €476 per MWh (~ $561) in Germany and Denmark. Frontier Economics explained that low evening wind and solar generation, at 3.6 GW and 2.4 GW respectively, has worsened the supply shortage. High daytime solar output has displaced many dispatchable plants, including lignite, which operated at 6 GW, down from over 10 GW. Frontier Economics said that restarting these plants later adds significant system costs. Scheduled maintenance of Belgium’s 1.2 GW DOEL4 nuclear plant has further reduced dispatchable capacity. Meanwhile, Sweden and Norway have maintained lower evening electricity prices below €90 per MWh (~ $106) due to limited grid interconnections.