Day-ahead electricity price in Greece slumps to near zero at night for first time

In Greece’s day-ahead electricity market, the price tumbled to almost zero for the first time for a nighttime hourly segment.

The average electricity price for Sunday, October 13, came in at just EUR 44 per MWh in the day-ahead market on October 12. Very low prices, below EUR 0.5 per MWh, were recorded for seven hours between 10:00 and 16:00, but first during the night, for 2:00-3:00, with EUR 0.04 per MWh.

Renewables dominated the production mix with 39%, plus another 2.4% from large hydroelectric plants. On the other hand, the share of natural gas was just 25.2%. Electricity imports accounted for 29.4%.

Up until now, it was usual to see zero, almost zero or even negative prices during the day. In countries with a relatively high renewables penetration, it is a common occurrence during spring and autumn, when demand is reduced and the share of green energy increases in the mix.

However, the appearance of a near-zero price at night potentially signifies a new trend in the market and will be closely watched by both market players and the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or, in Greek, Admie).

High prices in the region to be discussed on Tuesday

It should be noted that Greece had low power prices in spring. The April average was EUR 60 per MWh, followed by EUR 81 per MWh in May. During the summer they spiked due to seasonal demand plus issues in the wider Southeastern European region stemming from low interconnections and increased exports to Ukraine. The average reached EUR 135 per MWh in July.

The governments of Greece, Romania and Bulgaria have sent a letter to the European Commission, claiming high prices are a burden for their economies and urging for a solution. The issue is on the agenda of tomorrow’s meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in Luxembourg.