Clean Spark Spreads continue to decline

The beginning of last week saw relatively low wind generation, leading to a reliance on both coal and gas-fired power plants for the majority of the day. At the start of last week, gas prices also increased, and the production costs of gas power plants were higher than those of coal power plants. Gas power plants were generally cheaper last year after gas prices dropped significantly after the winter. Halfway through the week wind generation increased significantly, which generally pushed prices down. At the same time, solar generation decreased significantly. The average gas price was ultimately about 3 euros higher than the previous week, at approximately 47.4 €/MWh. The average Dutch power price in the spot was around 8 euros higher compared to the previous week, at 92.3 €/MWh.

Gas prices for the coming months, however, decreased slightly. The gas price for November dropped by around 3 euros to 51.1 €/MWh. December became nearly one euro cheaper and closed at 55.5 €/MWh. The CO2 price for the remainder of this year decreased significantly by almost 5 euros, coming down to 81.4 €/EUA.
Dutch power prices fell. November became almost 11 euros cheaper, closing at 118.4 €/MWh. December became over 6 euros cheaper, ending at 126.1 €/MWh. Clean spark spreads for these months also decreased. The clean spark spread for November decreased by around 3.5 euros to -8.4 €/MWh, and December dropped by 3 euros to -9 €/MWh.

Last week, European ministers agreed on so-called contracts for differences (CFDs) for nuclear energy. Germany, which has not had any nuclear power plants since mid-April this year, and France, which relies almost entirely on nuclear energy, had strong differences of opinion. It has now been decided that CFDs, where governments agree with power producers on minimum and maximum prices, can be used for both renewable energy and nuclear energy.

Contracts for the longer term turned red. CO2 prices dropped significantly, especially for 2024, decreasing by nearly 5 euros to 85.4 €/EUA. Gas prices remained relatively stable, closing at a similar level to the previous week, at 56 €/MWh. The Dutch power contract dropped by 4 euros to 129.5 €/MWh. The clean spark spread for next year deteriorated by almost 3 euros, falling to -9.1 €/MWh.

Weekly changes