During the week of July 29, electricity prices rose in most of the major European markets compared to the previous week. The MIBEL market in Spain and Portugal recorded the largest percentage increase, with prices surging by 13%. On this market, the average daily price remained at or above €100/MWh from Monday, July 29, through Thursday, August 1, as well as on Monday, August 5. This level of pricing was only seen on three other days in 2024, including January and July 18. The daily price of €109.82/MWh on August 5 was the second-highest of 2024, surpassed only by €113.83/MWh on January 9.
In other major European markets where prices increased, the rises ranged from 3.3% on the UK’s N2EX market to 6.8% on France’s EPEX SPOT market. The only market analyzed by Alea Energy Forecasting that saw a price decrease compared to the week of July 22 was the Nord Pool market in the Nordic countries, which registered the lowest weekly price, down 3.2% to €24.11/MWh.
Italy’s IPEX market had the highest weekly average price at €120.13/MWh. The two highest daily prices so far in 2024 on this market occurred in the first week of August, with €125.89/MWh on Monday, July 29, and €124.99/MWh on Sunday, August 4. In the other main European markets, weekly prices ranged from €53.42/MWh in France to €95.44/MWh in Portugal.
Despite the overall trend of rising prices, several markets experienced negative price hours on July 29 and 30, as well as in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands on Sunday, August 4. The lowest price of the week, €3.45/MWh, was recorded on the EPEX SPOT market in the Netherlands on July 29 between 11:00 and 12:00. No negative prices were registered in the Italian, UK or Iberian markets during the first week of August, according to AleaSoft.
