Publications
Natural gas prices in Europe:What does the summer price drop allow?Published: 1 of September, 2014

Western European spot markets sufferes rarely experienced price drop during the spring of 2014: NBP, the trend setting exchange platform for continental markets, have seen a price decrease of 40% within just a few months. As a consequence the profitability of British gas fired power plants significantly increased: in December last year the profitability index of coal fired power plants, the clean dark spread, was 33 €/MWh above the profitability index (clean spark spread) of the natural gas fired power plants, meanwhile the enormous competitive advantage diminished to 5 €/MWh by July this summer. How long can this decreasing trend go on at the continental markets and what does it allow? Is it sufficient to save the natural gas fired power plants from economic contraction and turn their operations into a profitable enterprise again?