Records set last year on Czech short-term gas and power markets

Last year saw new highs in traded volumes on the short-term electricity and gas markets organised by the Czech market operator, OTE, a.s. Year on year, 7.1 % more electricity was traded, while the increase for natural gas was almost 9%. Average prices, by contrast, declined by around 60 % for both electricity (see the price chart here) and gas (see the price chart here). OTE, a.s. reported.

Last year, the electricity and gas markets were marked by a gradual easing of the tense situation seen in 2022, as evidenced by the substantial decline in average achieved prices.

While the average electricity price on the day-ahead market approached 250 EUR/MWh in 2022, it stood at 100,8 EUR/MWh last year. A similar situation prevailed on the intraday electricity market, where the average price fell by 56 % from 241,0 EUR/MWh to 105,5 EUR/MWh.

The short-term natural gas market also saw a significant decline in the weighted average price of concluded trades, from 109,9 EUR/MWh in 2022 to 43,76 EUR/MWh, representing a 60 % decrease.

What increased across all the markets mentioned was the traded volume. The day-ahead electricity market recorded a year-on-year increase of 6,6 % to 25,9 TWh, while the intraday electricity market rose by as much as 8,8 % to 5,6 TWh. The intraday natural gas market saw growth similar to that of the intraday electricity market, namely 8,8 % to 5,6 TWh.

All three markets thus reached new all-time highs in traded volumes of electricity and natural gas, respectively.