(Bloomberg) -- Intense winds in Europe’s Nordic region will make electricity essentially free for some consumers for a brief period this weekend.
Average day-ahead power prices turned negative for Saturday — meaning there’s more supply than demand — data from the Nord Pool AS exchange show. The biggest surplus is set for around 1 p.m. local time.
While prices often hit sub-zero levels for specific hours, the decline marks the lowest level in a year for the 24-hour average price.
Negative prices are happening more frequently alongside a build-out in renewables, with strong winds occasionally leading to a glut of cheap energy. Grid flexibility in the form of batteries and demand-response programs is expected to reduce such occurrences.
Output from thousands of turbines in Sweden this weekend is set to reach the highest level since April, a Bloomberg model shows. The country has yellow warnings for strong wind in place for its west coast until midnight Saturday, according to national forecaster SMHI.
Vattenfall AB, Sweden’s state-owned utility, has reduced output at some of its nuclear reactors at the Forsmark plant north of Stockholm. Atomic-plant operators often curb output at times of low electricity prices.
Nordic day-ahead power prices for delivery Saturday declined to €-1.63 per megawatt-hour, the lowest since August 2023, according to Nord Pool data. German prices for Aug. 10 settled at €49.85 per megawatt-hour, a drop of 6.51%% from the previous session, data from Epex Spot SE show.
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