European wholesale power prices on Thursday dropped as temperatures eased and demand fell while more wind power supply was expected on the day-ahead.
German Friday delivery baseload lost 15.6% at 119 euros ($129.13) per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0935 GMT.
The equivalent French contract was 18.1% down at 113 euros/MWh.
German wind power production is forecast to rise by 3.8 gigawatts (GW) day-on-day to reach 7 GW on Friday, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, pegging the French supply on that day up 900 MW to 3.4 GW.
French nuclear availability remained at 59% of available capacity.
Temperatures in France will likely be down more than 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 Fahrenheit) on Friday after a heatwave this week, and fall by another 4 degrees on average next week, the Eikon data also showed.
The hot spell has curbed the availability of cooling water at the Saint Alban reactor on the Rhone river.
Power consumption in Germany is expected to be down 800 MW to 53.9 GW on Friday while demand in France is projected to drop by 4.7 GW to 44.4 GW.
German 2024 baseload dropped 4% to trade at 134.5 euros while the equivalent 2024 French position was untraded after closing at 162 euros euros/MWh.
European CO2 allowances for December 2023 expiry lost 1.8% to stand at 86.66 euros per metric tonne.
In sector news, German power grid firm Tennet said that energy networks were well prepared for possible tight supply situations next winter.
A German parliamentary group led by Social Democrats has put forward an industrial electricity price support scheme, amassing weight behind a controversial initiative started by Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a member of the Green Party, for such a move.
Railway operator Deutsche Bahn secured green power for 15 years from a North Sea wind park to be operated by utility EnBW from late 2025.
($1 = 0.9216 euros)
Source : Reuters
