Power rates surge in evenings

There are ominous signs about megawatt-hour rate hikes for electricity in the evenings, which have continued for a third consecutive month in September, revealing that the high wholesale electricity prices of the previous two months in Greece and across Southeast Europe was not a temporary phenomenon.

The price of megawatt-hours soars as soon as the sun sets, along with huge deviations during the day, which are extremely impressive and revealing of the structural problems of the regional market and the European operating model (target model).

From 6 o’clock in the evening, when the production of photovoltaics begins to decrease – turning off completely at 8 o’clock – and until 9 o’clock, when demand remains high, the selling price of 1 megawatt-hour on the Greek Energy Exchange soars, before starting to retreat after 10 o’clock from the high levels of the previous hours.

Every evening, around 1,500-2,500 MW in the 7-9 o’clock zone is sold at astronomical prices, completely unrelated to the actual costs, with sellers making big profits as this two-hour period pulls up the daily average megawatt-hour selling price. On the other side, consumers (households and businesses) are looking to government protection through subsidies, a measure that does not effectively respond to the problem that seems to be the new normal of the regional market.

For example, on Wednesday, August 28, a megawatt-hour was sold at a high of 234.68 euros at 6 o’clock, an hour later at €473.96, and at €647.76 at 8 o’clock. This was also the maximum price of the day.

On Thursday, August 29, from the already high level of €228.74 at 6 o’clock, the megawatt-hour price reached €569.50 at 7 o’clock, and an hour later it touched the highest rate of the day at €756.50.

Last Tuesday, September 3, the maximum price of the day came close to €1,000 euros, at €911/MWh at 8 o’clock. One hour earlier a megawatt-hour had been sold for a little over €590 and at 11 o’clock a little over €170.