Electricity has become so expensive that the power price ceiling is now adjusted upward throughout the European electricity market.

”It is correct that it is triggering a price cap increase,” says Communications Director Stina Johansen of electricity exchange Nordpool to EnergyWatch.

Today, the power price ceiling is set at EUR 3,000 per MWh, and Johansen relays that the pan-European price cap will be raised by EUR 1,000 per MWh within five weeks. Rules stipulate that this must occur if the price of electricity surpasses 60 percent of the ceiling.

”That means that, if the hour price in one European bidding zone exceeds EUR 1,800 per MWh, then a new maximum price must be set to EUR 4,000 per MWh,” Johansen notes.

That the power price is France was only EUR 12.22 less than the hard-coded maximum market rate shows the seriousness of the situation. If the price had reached that cap, there could have been problems in distributing electricity between buyers and sellers. Johansen tells, though, that the situation has been tackled appropriately, adding that the situation is not dangerous for the power market.

”The situation was handled by the book yesterday. All procedures were followed after the maximum price threshold was met in France today between 8 and 9 a.m. The order book was opened for another auction. After this, prices were published for all hours,” Johansen says.

Among other things, this led to the publication of electricity price being somewhat delayed.

In consequence of the sky-high power price in France, the electricity market must now prepare for situations involving electricity prices surging to as much as EUR 4,000 per MWh from May 9.

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