Czech electricity prices plunged deep into negative territory yesterday

The holiday yesterday, observed across almost all of Europe, affected short-term electricity market prices as expected. The steepest drop was once again seen in the Netherlands, while Czechia was not far behind. Prices partly recovered as the holiday came to an end, but fell into negative territory for several hours even for delivery today.

The first day of May traditionally puts pressure on electricity prices on short-term markets, mainly due to lower demand. Another key factor is rising output from photovoltaic power plants. Together, these factors helped push electricity prices below -100 EUR/MWh yesterday.

Prices fell lowest in the Netherlands, which has experienced a boom in photovoltaics in recent years. On sunny days with low demand around midday, prices on the Dutch market often fall to the lowest levels in Europe. Yesterday, the price on the Dutch day-ahead market even reached -200 EUR/MWh, while prices in Germany and Czechia for the same hours fell to around -115 to -120 EUR/MWh.

The situation was similar yesterday on the intraday market, where negative prices reached hundreds of euros. In Germany, the lowest price reached on the EPEX exchange came close to -300 EUR/MWh, while in the Netherlands it was around -260 EUR/MWh. The Czech intraday market was slightly calmer, with prices falling to nearly -130 EUR/MWh, comparable to the day-ahead market results.

Spot prices also faced strong downward pressure today, falling into negative territory, though not as deeply. In the Netherlands, prices fell to around -20 EUR/MWh at midday, while in the German and Czech markets they dipped only a few euros below zero.