UK day-ahead power contracts shed most of the previous day's gains Friday on the back of an expected rebound in wind generation amid dampened demand levels at the start of week 15.
Baseload power for Monday delivery was last heard trading at GBP31.50/MWh, down GBP2 from where Friday's price closed Thursday, while the peakload contract was heard at GBP33.85/MWh before Platts 11:00 am London market close, also down GBP3.15 on the day.
According to system operator National Grid, peak power demand Monday was expected to reach 39.2 GW, relatively unchanged from Friday's levels, with peak demand hovering around 39 GW throughout week 15.
Warmer weather in the coming week is likely to dampen demand levels in the coming week with temperatures set to rise slightly after dipping below seasonal norms over the weekend, although the UK Met Office is expecting "rain and strengthening winds in the southwest, slowly moving northwards Monday." Baseload power for delivery this weekend meanwhile was heard trading 20 pence higher on the day at GBP30.80/MWh, but was nearly GBP1.50 below where the previous weekend contract had closed one week earlier.
Wind power generation is forecast to climb back from the negligible levels seen Friday morning to reach 3 GW overnight to Saturday, according to data from system operator National Grid, with forecasts further out showing wind levels likely to increase towards 4 GW by Monday. Solar power production is set to climb around 500 MW over the weekend before falling back to 1 GW Monday, according to sources.
At midday Friday, wind power supply was at 370 MW, accounting for just 1% of the UK's fuel mix, the grid said, while gas-fired power production had ramped up to 21 GW and accounted for 56% of the UK's supplies.
Coal-fired power stations remained sluggish at 2.1 GW, or 5.7%, while nuclear power output had risen slightly to generate 8.2 GW, or 21.9%, the grid data showed.
