Which Europeans will have free electricity on the weekend of 10-11 August and why

Strong winds across the Scandinavian peninsula will make electricity essentially free for some consumers for a short period this weekend.

Specifically, as Bloomberg reports, average daily electricity prices turned negative for Saturday – meaning there is more supply than demand – according to data from the exchange Nord Pool AS. The biggest surplus is expected at about 1 p.m. local time.

While prices often reach sub-zero levels for certain hours, that drop marks the lowest level in a year for the 24-hour average price.

Negative values are being recorded with greater frequency now, with renewable energy development and strong winds occasionally leading to an abundance of cheap energy.

Grid flexibility in the form of batteries and demand response programs is expected to reduce such events.

Output from thousands of wind turbines in Sweden this weekend will reach its highest level since April, according to a Bloomberg model. The country has put in place yellow warnings for strong winds for its west coast until midnight Saturday, according to national weather company SMHI.

Vattenfall, Sweden’s state-owned utility, has reduced output at some of its nuclear reactors at its Forsmark plant north of Stockholm. Nuclear plant operators often curtail production during periods of low electricity prices.

Scandinavian daily electricity delivery prices 10/08 fell to 1.63 euros per megawatt-hour, the lowest since August 2023, according to Nord Pool data. German prices for 10 August were at 49.85 euros per megawatt-hour, down 6.51 percent from the previous session, according to Epex Spot SE data.

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