London December 11 2022: UK power prices for Monday jumped to record levels as freezing temperatures are set to cause a surge in demand, just as a drop in wind generation causes a supply crunch.
The day-ahead price settled at a record £674.78 a megawatt-hour on the Epex Spot SE exchange with the price for 5-6 p.m. clearing at an all-time high of £2585.80 a megawatt-hour. The Met Office has yellow weather warnings for snow and ice in place throughout the UK through Thursday.
Temperatures are set to drop as low as -3 degrees Celsius (26.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in London on Sunday night, boosting demand for heating. Power consumption is expected to peak at 46,695 megawatts at 5 p.m. on Monday, up from a peak of 42,930 megawatts on Sunday, National Grid Plc data show.
The cold snap is expected to last for the next seven days across northwest Europe at the same time as the wind weakens, reducing power supplies. In the UK, wind generation will be almost zero on Sunday and very low on Monday before picking up on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg’s wind model.
German day-ahead power prices jumped 33% to €433.93 a megawatt-hour, the highest since September 13 while the French contract rose 40% to €465.49 a megawatt-hour on Epex Spot.
The UK’s National Grid will be testing it’s tool that pays some homes to reduce consumption on Monday. The so-called demand flexibility service was almost needed on November 28 but was stood down.
