French prompt power prices were lifted Tuesday by a return in consumption after the holidays amid lower temperatures and less wind infeed than in recent days, market sources said.
Baseload power for delivery Wednesday was last heard trading before Platts 11:00 am London time close at Eur34.75/MWh, Eur2.75 higher than Monday's assessment of Tuesday baseload, while peakload power for Wednesday delivery was last heard Eur2 higher at Eur40.50/MWh.
Epex Spot settled day-ahead baseload just above OTC at Eur34.98/MWh with peakload settling at Eur40.88/MWh.
Week-ahead baseload gained Eur1.25 Tuesday, last heard at Eur38.75/MWh in the morning trading session, as demand was seen to increase more than expected after a downward revision to the temperature forecast.
Demand next week is set to jump over 81 GW at peak times as temperatures will drop to be in line with the norm for this period, after hovering at 2-4 degrees Celsius above the norm in recent days and weeks, RTE's data showed.
Wind outturn is also due to slow down next week, WSI's wind generation model showed.
On Tuesday, demand was 71.6 GW in peak hour 12:00, up from 69.3 GW on Monday during the same peak hour, data from French grid operator RTE showed.
On Wednesday, average temperatures are due to rise by circa 1 C on the day to 8 C and they will continue to stay high before dipping next week and falling more considerably in February, according to the latest forecast from WSI.
On the supply side, nuclear output was stable on the day Tuesday at 58.4 GW in hour 12:00, despite EDF unexpectedly reducing output at its 1.3-GW St Alban-1 nuclear reactor for unplanned maintenance.
Hydro output was down on the day by 1.2 GW in hour 12:00 Monday 8.4 GW, while on the fossil fuel side, gas output rose by about 600 MW during the same peak hour to 8.4 GW.
Wind outturn continued to be strong on Tuesday at just under 5 GW in hour 12:00, RTE real-time generation data showed.
