Energy transition
Expert on high exchange electricity prices: Hardly any consequences for households
Electricity was very expensive at times in wholesale trade on Thursday. Will prices for households now rise as a result? No, say experts. Unless you have linked your tariff to the exchange price.
According to experts, very high hourly prices on the electricity exchange at times have virtually no impact on end consumers. Electricity suppliers usually obtain a large proportion of their electricity through long-term contracts, said energy market expert Mirko Schlossarczyk from the consulting firm Enervis to the German press agency dpa. “That means they procure much earlier and not on an hourly basis, but on a monthly or quarterly basis.” Individual extreme hours were of no importance to end consumers.
Late on Thursday afternoon between 5 and 6 p.m., a megawatt hour of electricity cost 936 euros in German electricity wholesalers, which is almost 94 cents per kilowatt hour. “Low wind and high consumption came together,” said the Federal Ministry of Economics, explaining the high price. For comparison: On average a megawatt hour cost 395 euros on Thursday. On the windy December 6th, however, the average price was only 86 euros.
Expert: High prices are only relevant for very few consumers
According to Schlossarczyk, such high prices are only relevant for consumers who have a flexible tariff that is linked to the exchange electricity price. “But there are very, very few consumers in Germany.” According to the expert, such high prices could become more relevant for the industry. “There are some industrial companies that procure their remaining requirements at very, very short notice.”
The Federal Network Agency pointed out that customers with fixed electricity tariffs are not affected by exchange electricity prices. “You pay the price agreed with your supplier.” They also did not benefit from the times of very low stock market prices.
Sweden’s Energy Minister “angry with the Germans”
Sweden’s Energy Minister Ebba Busch was critical of Germany in connection with the high prices. According to the newspaper Aftonbladet, she is “angry with the Germans” because they have not divided the country into electricity price zones and switched off nuclear power, as she said in a press conference on Thursday. The high electricity prices in southern Sweden are also the result of the shutdown of nuclear power there.
The Federal Ministry of Economics did not comment directly on the statements, but wrote in the short message service X that Germany and Sweden are connected by a line with a capacity of 600 megawatts. Sweden has four bidding zones. “In the southernmost one, to which we are connected, there is little of our own power plant capacity.”
BMWK: Sweden also benefits from German wind power
At some times of the year, Sweden benefits from German wind power capacity and purchases cheap German renewable electricity, the ministry emphasized. “In times of little wind, we import electricity from Sweden, which is generated there from hydropower with large storage lakes. This is how electricity trading works.”
According to the Federal Network Agency, it cannot be ruled out that similarly significant price fluctuations will occur in the next few weeks. The Federal Network Agency still believes that legislative measures for the expansion of controllable capacities are urgently required.
The construction of new gas power plants should actually be supported by law. In the future, these will step in when the electricity demand cannot be covered by renewable energies – in “dark periods” when there is no sun shining and no wind blowing. The gas power plants will later be converted to more climate-friendly hydrogen. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has buried the corresponding plans for a new power plant law because the necessary majorities in the Bundestag are missing after the traffic lights were switched off.
Federal Network Agency is investigating allegations of market abuse
The regulator also reported that it was investigating allegations of “market abusive conduct” related to the price spikes. If there are relevant indications, further investigative measures will be initiated. The authority did not provide any details. Market abuse occurs, for example, when power plant capacity is withheld in order to drive up the price of electricity.
“The secure power supply was never at risk,” the Federal Network Agency continued. Germany has sufficient generation capacity. The transmission system operators did not use any reserve power plants during the hours with prices above 300 euros.
dpa
Source: Stern
