Headlines:
- Gas and Electricity Wholesale prices are lower than last week
- The upward price trend has stalled
- EU Gas Storage levels are a positive 79% full
Energy Overview
Gas and Electricity Year Ahead Wholesale costs are lower than last week. The upward trend since February has stalled, although the daily ups and downs underline the lack of price direction. Costs remain far lower than those seen in 2021 / 2022 / 2023.
The EU has set a target for their Gas Storage to be 90% full by November, in readiness for the increased winter heating demand. Currently at 79%, it will probably reach almost 100% as it did in 2023. A high Storage position provides a degree of confidence.
August will see Norway undertake planned maintenance of some Gas assets which will impact on supplies. As these are known events, the markets will have already built them into prices, but it does mean any other Gas related issues will likely have an exaggerated effect. There is also a growing dialogue within the EU that more should be done to reduce Gas imports from Russia. A recent attempt to ban some LNG shipments was opposed by Germany. The concern is that supply margins are already tight, especially with the increased demand from Asia.
We have seen a high contribution from Wind over the last week at 27% of supplies, peaking at almost 50% on the 4th of July. This helped ease the use of Gas at 17% and Interconnectors with Europe at 19%.
We would encourage customers that have Gas or Electricity contracts ending in 2024, to discuss options with Indigo Swan and closely monitor the position.
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