NWE power prices fall into negative territory for two consecutive days

London — Day-ahead hourly prices fell into negative territory for consecutive days Sunday and Monday in Germany and France, as nationwide lockdowns and mild temperatures slashed power demand.

In Germany, prices turned negative between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm CEST (1200-1500 GMT) Sunday, falling to a low of minus Eur26/MWh between 3:00 and 4:00 pm.

Power demand in Germany averaged 42.94 GW Sunday as the "stay-at-home" directive, implemented by the German government to tackle the coronavirus pandemic caused national power demand to plummet.

Wind generation averaged 17.3 GW Sunday while solar generation averaged 23.73 GW during the hours with negative prices.

There were also negative prices between 2:00 and 5:00 pm CEST in France, as prices fell to a low of minus Eur20.40/MWh between 3:00 and 4:00 pm.

Power demand averaged 37.29 GW Sunday, while nuclear and renewable generation (including wind, solar and hydro power) averaged 41.44 GW, according to data from French grid operator RTE.

Power exports averaged 4.60 GW Sunday, compared with an April average of 8.26 GW as lockdown measures and mild weather weighed on demand in neighboring countries.

On Monday, day-ahead hourly prices entered negative territory between noon and 5:00 pm in Germany, falling to a low of Eur44.25/MWh between 2:00 and 3:00 pm.

In France, there were negative prices between 1:00 and 5:00 pm, with hourly prices falling to a low of minus Eur23.12/MWh between 3:00 and 4:00 pm.

According to most recent forecasts from RTE, French power consumption is forecast to average 41.31 GW, averaging 43.97 GW in the hours with negative prices.

RTE's intraday forecast has wind generation peaking at 5.6 GW between 2:00 and 3:00 pm, compared with a month-to date average of 2.95 GW. At the same time, solar generation is forecast to peak at 3.97 GW.

In the UK, there were three hours of consecutive negative prices Monday between 1:00 and 4:00 pm BST (1200-1500 GMT).

According to data from Entso-e, demand is forecast to average 26.16 GW Monday while wind generation is forecast to average 11.61 GW on the day. In Monday's hours with negative prices, wind generation is forecast to average 12.75 GW, with solar output in those hours averaging 8.5 GW, according to data from the Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service.

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