Power prices ease after two weeks as wind power lifts Dutch supply

The week began with above-average wind conditions, followed by a temporary lull on Wednesday, 22 October, which led to a brief price spike as the day cleared at 115.81 €/MWh in the Netherlands. Wind generation increased sharply afterwards, coinciding with the arrival of Storm Benjamin on Thursday evening. The storm brought very high wind speeds across the BENELUX region and France, which significantly boosted renewable generation. Wind output remained high throughout Friday and the weekend, resulting in exceptionally low prices. The weekend baseload cleared as low as 15.7 €/MWh in the Netherlands and 8.87 €/MWh in Germany.

Although solar production declined week on week by about 33 percent in Germany and 12 percent in the Netherlands, the sharp increase in wind generation more than offset this drop. Wind generation rose by a massive 4.3 TWh week on week in Germany to around 6 TWh, and by about 1 TWh in the Netherlands week on week to roughly 1.4 TWh. This surge in wind output was the main driver behind the steep decline in power prices across both markets.

TTF prices remained relatively flat last week as midweek gains were weighed down by milder weather forecasts signaling reduced heating demand. While tighter EU and US sanctions on Russian energy maintained a modest risk premium but it didn’t alter the near-term supply.