Hopes for a partial de-escalation of the energy crisis

Of Thanks to Floudopoulos

De-escalation trends show in recent days both gas prices and electricity prices. For example, yesterday the price of natural gas reached up to 70.75 euros / MWh to stabilize at 72.6 euros / MWh. But also in the electricity markets, the picture on the European map appears satisfactory, with prices in most countries hovering close to or even below 100 euros / MWh, which is how much electricity cost in pre-crisis wholesale.

Prices in Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark and Poland moved below 100 euros / MWh. In the largest markets the picture was also positive with Germany at 117.63 euros / MWh, France at 158.69 euros / MWh, Belgium at 156.86 euros / MWh, the Netherlands at 180.55 euros / MWh and Spain at 184.26 euros / MWh.

For another day, however, the highest price in the wholesale electricity market was located in Greece, at 205.4 euros / MWh. In our country, so far in February the average wholesale price is 229.13 euros / MWh and is the highest in Europe, with Italy second at 223.11 euros / MWh and Switzerland third with 219.39 euros / MWh. On the other hand, the cheapest electricity markets so far in February are Sweden (78.42 euros / MWh), Ukraine (78.48 euros / MWh) and Norway (99.35 euros / MWh).

Based on the picture so far in February, the subsidies for the electricity bills that will be given are expected to be reduced as there is a decline compared to the average price in January which was 227 euros / MWh. It is recalled that in order to cover part of the increase in electricity in January, 150 million euros were given for households and 133 million euros for businesses. If the gas subsidies are included, the total cost of the measures in January reached 350 million euros. It is worth noting that the subsidy measures are funded by the Energy Transition Fund, which draws resources from polluting emissions auctions, ie does not burden the budget. However, according to government sources, TEM’s resources are enough to cover the subsidies until April, which means that in case the crisis persists then the new subsidies will be borne by the budget.