German prompt power prices rebounded Thursday as wind power output was forecast fall back below average levels, more than offsetting the typical drop in industrial demand on a Friday afternoon.
Also, nuclear availability was set to drop due to a planned maintenance outage at the 1.4 GW Neckarwestheim 2 reactor, scheduled to come offline this weekend, according to sources.
Forward prices eased further on the back of lower fuel prices, a trader said.
Baseload power for day-ahead delivery was last heard Eur3.55 higher at Eur34.25/MWh, while peakload gained Eur3.75 to Eur38/MWh.
Epex Spot settled Friday above OTC at Eur35.42/MWh baseload and Eur39.42/MWh peakload.
Wind power output was forecast to fall to 3 GW for average baseload hours Friday, according to a market source. Solar was forecast little changed around 10 GW for average peakload hours, a source said.
During August, wind output averaged 4.4 GW for baseload hours, while solar remained below 10 GW during average peakload hours during the month, according to Platts PowerVision data. Germany's installed wind and solar portfolio now stands above 73 GW.
Nuclear availability will fall from its full 12 GW capacity to 10.6 GW by Saturday with the Neckarwestheim 2 reactor scheduled to come offline for a three-week maintenance outage, according to plant operator data.
Coal plant availability for Friday was little changed at 13.5 GW, with lignite adding 17.9 GW of baseload capacity, according to EEX transparency data.
On the curve, October base dropped another 15 euro cents to Eur34.65/MWh, while the front-quarter baseload contract shed another 10 euro cents to Eur36.65/MWh after a trading Monday at a 2014-high just below Eur38/MWh.
