In the first week of February, a notable decline in electricity prices was observed across several major European markets. While some regions experienced minor recoveries towards the week’s end, the overall trend indicated a decrease in weekly average prices compared to the previous week. The IPEX market in Italy and the Nord Pool market in the Nordic region recorded the smallest reductions at 8.9% and 9.0%, respectively. In contrast, the MIBEL market serving Spain and Portugal faced significant declines of 43% and 74%, highlighting regional disparities in market performance. Other markets, including Germany’s EPEX SPOT and France’s EPEX SPOT, experienced decreases ranging from 13% to 28%.
Despite these reductions, most European markets maintained weekly averages above €100/MWh. Noteworthy exceptions included Portugal with an average of €4.56/MWh, Spain at €13.18/MWh, and France at €80.63/MWh. The Italian market emerged with the highest weekly average price of €128.15/MWh, while other markets like Belgium and the Nordic region reported averages between €101.82/MWh and €110.86/MWh.
On a daily basis during this period, most markets sustained prices above €90/MWh; however, Portugal, Spain, and France did not follow this trend. Notably, Portugal’s prices remained below €10/MWh for much of the week, culminating in a record low daily average of €0.54/MWh on February 7—marking its lowest point since April 2024. Similarly, Spain recorded daily prices under €10/MWh during the latter half of the week. Conversely, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Nordic markets reported daily prices surpassing €115/MWh; Italy notably exceeded €135/MWh for three consecutive days and reached a peak daily average of €140.36/MWh on February 2.
The downward pressure on electricity prices throughout early February was attributed to several factors: decreasing gas prices, lower CO₂ emission allowance costs, increased solar energy production, and reduced electricity demand across various regions. Additionally, enhanced wind production in France and Italy contributed to these price drops.
Looking forward to the week beginning February 9, analysts from AleaSoft Energy Forecasting anticipate that electricity prices will rise in most major markets due to expected lower wind production and potential increases in demand in certain areas. However, Spain and France are projected to experience further price declines supported by anticipated higher wind energy output coupled with lower demand.
