German Power Prices Hit Fresh Record as Gas Continues to Surge
2022.08.16 11:50
German Power Prices Hit Fresh Record as Gas Continues to Surge
(Bloomberg) — Europe’s benchmark power price rose to a record for a fifth consecutive trading session as there are no signs of the natural gas rally slowing down.
German year-ahead power rose as much as 2.7% to 490 euros per megawatt-hour on the European Energy Exchange AG in early trading on Tuesday. The price has more than doubled since June, driving up prices for consumers and industrials suffering from the highest inflation in decades as everything from food to petrol costs are surging too.
Governments are under pressure to plan for possible blackouts this winter in some European countries. Output from France’s nuclear fleet, traditionally the backbone of the region’s power system, remains on course to be the lowest in decades, while hydropower stocks in some countries are also at multi-year lows.
Dutch natural gas prices for next month rose as much as 6.5% in trading early on Tuesday. That’s the highest intraday price since early March.
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