The Haven Power Market Report

Week 42 The Haven Power Market Report is a weekly pricing report that analyses and explains energy market fluctuations over the past 7 days. For a more in-depth analysis from […]

Week 42

The Haven Power Market Report is a weekly pricing report that analyses and explains energy market fluctuations over the past 7 days.

For a more in-depth analysis from the company’s Flex & Portfolio Management team, speak to Haven Power directly on 01473 707755 quoting reference HP250.

Seasonal Contracts

Secure and Promote* (Season +1, +2, +3, +4) baseload contracts gained on average £0.40/MWh over the course of the week. Prices reached weekly highs on Wednesday morning, following news that over 25 French nuclear reactors contain inadequately resistant pipes for their pumping stations. This means that, in the event of an earthquake, there would be flooding leading to a potential meltdown. No extra outages were announced based on this news, but the interconnected European and UK markets both responded strongly. This information led to anxiety about the increased likelihood of forced closures and outages in the near curve, reducing plant availability and overall capacity in the year’s coldest months. The response was also supported by bullish sentiment in the coal market, which pushed prices up further.

Prompt/Day-ahead Power

This week, the average day-ahead baseload price was up by around £1.80/MWh on the previous week, at £46/MWh. The maximum price of £50.20/MWh was on Monday 9th, with much lower wind output than the rest of the week. The cheapest delivery was on 15th October, a mild Sunday – a combination that ensured reduced heating demand, as well as less business demand.

Imbalance Prices

Cashout prices over the week averaged £42.17/MWh, with some negative prices recorded. These included, on October 12th, a price of £-66.40/MWh for settlement period 28 as a 140MW Scottish wind farm was paid to reduce output. The negative price is indirectly caused by the value of the ROCs (Renewables Obligation Certificates) generated by the station. As there’s no fuel cost for wind, the farm will need to receive payment equalling at least the value of the ROCs/MWh to turn down its generation. This ensures that the station doesn’t lose revenue when turning down its output.

Renewables and other

Average wind output was at similar levels to last week, with an average of 7.24GW. Wednesday 11th October saw the windiest conditions, with an output level of 10.8GW. As we head into winter, mean solar generation is quickly shrinking and was less than 0.8GW during the past week.

*For more information about Secure and Promote, please consult this Ofgem web page.

Disclaimer

Although all reasonable efforts have been made to verify the information in this report and provide the highest possible accuracy, no warranty, express or implied, is given by Haven Power Limited in respect of this information. Furthermore, the provision of this report does not constitute advice of any kind and should not be taken as the basis for any commercial or financial decisions.  Any such decision should be made on the basis of your own records, knowledge and perception of power market data, supplemented with appropriate independent expert advice when required.

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