Aug 16, 2022
RawNews1st/ Tech – European Power Prices Set a New Record for 5th Straight Day as Perfect Storm Rocks the Continent’s Energy System
European power prices have surged to a record high for the fifth day running.
German baseload year-ahead power, the benchmark European price, rose 5.5% to hit a record 505 euros ($512) per megawatt hour Tuesday (August 16), Bloomberg data showed.
A surge in prices for natural gas—a key input in much electricity generation—is at the root of the roughly 500% increase in power prices over the last year. French power prices are running at record highs of more than 600 euros a megawatt hour.
On top of the drop in Russian supplies, European governments are worried that other sources of energy could deliver less than hoped this year. In France, for example, nuclear power output is forecast to be its lowest in years, as plants struggle with maintenance issues.
Meanwhile, low water levels on the river Rhine, which runs through Germany, have threatened to stymie the flow of commodities such as diesel and coal through central and western Europe. That could push industrial plants toward using natural gas instead, adding to the pressure on prices.
Companies and consumers are struggling under the surge in the cost of energy, which many economists expect to push the eurozone into a severe and lasting economic downturn in the coming months.
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