Figure 19 – Number of negative hourly wholesale prices on selected day-ahead trading platforms in Europe. Figure 19 shows the monthly frequency of the occurrence of negative hourly wholesale electricity prices in selected European markets. Negative hourly prices generally occur when electricity demand is lower than expected and when variable renewable energy generation is abundant, combined with large and relatively inflexible baseload electricity generation (e.g. nuclear or lignite). In such cases, conventional power plants offer their output for a negative price to avoid switching the unit off and having to go through the costly and high-maintenance operation of restarting the facility when they want to enter the market again. • In Q2 2024, the number of negative hours reached 4166 in selected European markets, compared to 1441 in Q2 2023 (+189%). This is the highest second quarterly figure since the record set in Q2 2023 (1441). The highest number of occurrences of negative price took place in May of the reference quarter (1578), with most negative prices occurring in Northern Europe, followed by Central Western Europe and Central Eastern Europe. Northern Eu- rope is benefiting by the development of wind and solar power combined with good supply conditions of hydroelectric and nuclear power. Negative price signals intensify the search for market instruments that would find a proper value of flexibility, increasing incentives for demand-side response and storage solutions.

Figure 19 – Number of negative hourly wholesale prices on selected day-ahead trading platforms in Europe. Figure 19 shows the monthly frequency of the occurrence of negative hourly wholesale electricity prices in selected European markets. Negative hourly prices generally occur when electricity demand is lower than expected and when variable renewable energy generation is abundant, combined with large and relatively inflexible baseload electricity generation (e.g. nuclear or lignite). In such cases, conventional power plants offer their output for a negative price to avoid switching the unit off and having to go through the costly and high-maintenance operation of restarting the facility when they want to enter the market again. • In Q2 2024, the number of negative hours reached 4166 in selected European markets, compared to 1441 in Q2 2023 (+189%). This is the highest second quarterly figure since the record set in Q2 2023 (1441). The highest number of occurrences of negative price took place in May of the reference quarter (1578), with most negative prices occurring in Northern Europe, followed by Central Western Europe and Central Eastern Europe. Northern Eu- rope is benefiting by the development of wind and solar power combined with good supply conditions of hydroelectric and nuclear power. Negative price signals intensify the search for market instruments that would find a proper value of flexibility, increasing incentives for demand-side response and storage solutions.
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