Europe power: H1 2024 in review

This review considers the development of volumes and prices in Europe’s electricity markets in H1 2024. After falling commodity prices took the sting out of wholesale power prices in 2023, European prices have continued to enjoy relative stability in H1 2024. However, there remains significant volatility in within-day power prices, with over 3,100 negative power priced hours in the first half of the year. There has been some recovery in demand at a transmission system level, although demand reduction measures were in place in Q1 2023, rendering the underlying increase moderate. On the supply side, strong nuclear and hydro availability, alongside the continued build-out of renewable capacity, helped further ease the reliance on gas and coal.