Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva
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Spot electricity prices in Finland are set to rise sharply this evening, Tuesday 14 October, reaching their highest levels this year. The price will peak at 71.8 cents per kilowatt hour, including VAT, between 19:45 and 20:00.
The surge follows a sharp drop in wind power output and rising energy demand due to cooler weather.
Market data shows the price will remain elevated for much of the evening. Between 19:30 and 20:15, prices will stay close to or above 70 cents.
The evening increase begins around 18:45, when the price hits 53.5 cents. By 21:15, the rate is expected to drop to just over 31 cents.
The average price will be 24.8 cents per kilowatt hour. For comparison, Monday’s average stood at 7.6 cents, and Sunday’s was just 0.14 cents. Until now, October’s average had remained near 6.7 cents, in line with September.
The main driver behind the price spike is a significant fall in wind power generation. While wind power provided thousands of megawatts on Monday, output on Tuesday will fall to a few hundred megawatts.
At 20:00, wind power production is expected to reach only around 850 megawatts, roughly half the output of a single unit at Olkiluoto’s nuclear power plant.
The introduction of 15-minute pricing periods at the start of October has made such fluctuations more visible. Previously, electricity was priced by the hour. Now, prices are determined in quarter-hour blocks through a Europe-wide auction run by Nord Pool.
In the new system, producers and wholesale buyers submit offers by midday each day. An algorithm sets the price for each zone based on supply, demand, and cross-border transmission capacity.
Some market participants still submit bids by the hour, while others use 15-minute intervals. Experts say this mismatch may be causing further volatility.
Despite the volatility, the power market has mechanisms to reflect real-time supply and demand. Consumers on variable-rate contracts tied to the spot market will be most affected by the sharp rise.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
