On Friday, the short-term TTF gas price closed at 37 Euro per megawatt-hour. Still, another steady rise throughout last week, bringing the two June peaks back in sight. The electricity market, on the other hand, recorded another deep fall in hourly prices on Sunday.
TTF gas price August contract until June 30, 2023. Click here for current figures.
Energy specialists focused on the electricity dip this weekend. Market analyst Chris Guth of ENGIE Energie Nederland spoke on LinkedIn of a new day-ahead depth in the Netherlands of minus 500 Euro per megawatt-hour of electricity. Electricity hourly prices also sank in the Netherlands' surrounding countries. The market analyst points to a recent blog on the importance of more flexibility in the electricity market.
A total of 17 (!) hours with negative electricity prices were recorded on Sunday, July 2. Today too, prices dip below 0, albeit not as extreme as Sunday. Between 11 am and 5 pm, prices are below 0. The exceptional power situation also occurred elsewhere in Europe, according to data from Nordpool Group.
Wauw, morgen 2 juli maar liefst 17 uren met een negatieve stroomprijs, dalend zelfs tot -500 €/MWh.
Dat betekent dat mensen met een dynamisch contract, ondanks de hoge energiebelasting, morgenmiddag geld toe krijgen als ze hun waterkoker aanzetten.
Het failliet van de… pic.twitter.com/FAJIsfux9Y
- Martien Visser (@BM_Visser) July 1, 2023
(Wow, tomorrow, July 2, as many as 17 hours with a negative power price, falling even to -500 €/MWh.
That means that people on dynamic contracts, despite the high energy tax, will get cash tomorrow afternoon if they turn on their kettle.
The bankruptcy of the...)
Also (almost) a record: temperatures in the first half of 2023. It was the fourth warmest first half of the year in the Netherlands, Weeronline shows with figures. On average, it was 10 degrees Celsius. Interestingly, the warmth of recent months did not set any date-warming records. Only on January 1 were record temperatures reached.
Despite 11% more precipitation than normal in 2023, there is a severe drought. The precipitation fell too early in the year and was partly drained by canals and rivers and partly replenished groundwater. The remaining part has largely evaporated, and the topsoil is very dry. The rainfall deficit is currently 171 mm on average across the country, making it drier than in the 5% driest years. This deficit indicates how much more water has evaporated than has fallen since 1 April.
Grid operators are working on more flexibility. Liander talked about it in a recent webinar.
Shell is still trading in Russian gas, although the company had pledged to stop doing so. This is reported by the activist group Global Witness. BNR writes about it and asked TNO for an explanation. René Peters of TNO says these are long-term contracts that the oil group cannot get out of.