Finance
Utilities Pay Customers to Take Power After Virus Guts Demand
- Coronvirus measures have upset models predicting energy use
- Prices may also rise when wind and solar generation fall short
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Power traders are predicting a volatile summer in Europe, with prices tumbling below zero more frequently as the coronavirus upends longstanding energy forecasting models.
With all of Europe’s major markets in quarantine and electricity consumption about 20% lower than usual, gauging demand in the once-sleepy summer season is now more challenging than ever. Lockdowns to halt Covid-19 have left weekday power consumption looking more like a weekend. Negative prices for power appeared in France, Germany, the Nordic region and Belgium over the Easter weekend.