A heat wave in late June caused Hungarian day-ahead power prices to rise beyond 224 euros/MWh; however, they swiftly declined, falling below 100 euros/MWh in the first week of July.
According to HUPX exchange data, the day-ahead for July 5 closed at 65.27 euros/MWh.
As Hungary experienced a brief reprieve from the heat waves that began in mid-June, domestic electricity demand decreased in the first week of July.
Cooler weather also contributed to a decline in solar generation, which peaked at 3.5 GW in the first week of July and then dropped to about 2 GW.
The stability of production was maintained by both nuclear and fossil-fueled plants, even with the 400-MW Dunamenti G3 CCGT unit remaining offline.
Over the past two weeks, net imports have not changed much, although gross
In order to offset Slovenian inflows and meet Ukraine’s increased transit needs, imports from Slovakia and Austria rose.
The latter were impacted by scheduled maintenance on the cross-border route between Hungary and Slovenia through mid-July.
The market’s concerns over gas prices were partially reflected in the gradual increase in forward prices on the HUDEX exchange.
As contracts rolled over to August, month-ahead increased from 84 euros/MWh to 92 euros/MWh, with Hungary’s premium over Germany extending to 16 euros/MWh.
Quarter-ahead contracts showed even steeper gains upon the switch to Q4, rising from 87 euros/MWh to 103 euros/MWh. The premium over Germany’s Cal 2025 also widened to 7 euros/MWh.
