The average price of electricity in the Estonian price area of the Nordic energy exchange Nord Pool Spot (NPS) fell in February almost 5 percent from January to 39.82 euros per megawatt-hour.
Avg market price of electricity drops nearly 5 pct in February
19th March 2013, 16:17
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Owing to warmer than usual weather, electricity consumption in the Nordic and Baltic countries declined by up to 15 percent in annual comparison and as a result the market price of electricity came down by 4 percent on the average compared to January, the Estonian transmission system operator Elering said.
The overall price in the NPS system was 39.67 euros per MWh and the price in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Estonia was below 40 euros. In the Estonian bidding area the average price was 39.82 euros, in the ELE area reflecting the price in cross-border trading between Estonia and Latvia 41.47 euros, in Lithuania 42.94 euros and in Finland 39.43 euros per MWh.
Reservoir water levels, the main influence on electricity prices in the Nordic region, remained up to 18 percent lower in February than in the same month of the previous year and the Norwegian electricity system turned from an exporting into an importing system. Nonetheless, a deficit of production capacities nor a significant deficit of transmission capacities between price areas did not occur except for the Danish and ELE areas.
In Latvia domestic production of electricity covered 81 percent of consumption. In Lithuania the corresponding indicator was only 35 percent due to which most of the electricity was imported from neighboring countries. As prices in the Estonian and NPS ELE areas were more favorable than in Lithuania, export from Estonia increased to both Latvia and Lithuania. Owing to this a shortage of transmission capacity was recorded for 173 hours on the Estonian-Latvian border. In Estonia all the electricity for domestic consumption was purchased on the market.
The price of CO2 emissions that affects power plants using fossil fuels has stayed low since the beginning of the year, supporting the competitiveness of electricity produced in Estonia. In February prices moved in a range of 4.07 to 5.18 euros per ton, above the 3.3 euro level recorded at the end of January.
According to Elering's estimates the price of natural gas imported into Estonia fell to 32.35 euros per megawatt-hour in February. The drop was caused by the continued decline in nine-month average prices of gas oil and crude.