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U.K. Power Prices Soar Above £2,000 on Low Winds

  • Less wind exposes the U.K. power market to high gas prices
  • Second highest hourly price on record for N2EX-exchange
Onshore wind turbines and electricity pylons near Camber, U.K.

Onshore wind turbines and electricity pylons near Camber, U.K.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Updated on

Some coal and gas power stations in Britain were paid double the price of exchange-traded electricity to help plug a gap left by a drop in wind generation on Monday.

Two coal-fired units at Uniper SE’s Ratcliffe station got more than 3,200 pounds ($4,295) a megawatt-hour while four gas units received 3,500 pounds. Intraday power in the U.K. soared to 1,500 pounds for the half-hour to 6:30 p.m. on the Epex Spot exchange, with wind-power generation falling to the lowest level in 56 days. Prices for Monday were almost double the average day-ahead rate for this year.