Overview
- Wholesale electricity prices fell to as low as minus 480 euros per megawatt-hour for several hours recently, the federal grid regulator confirmed after a midday oversupply from wind and solar met weak demand.
- EEX chief Peter Reitz said such negative-price periods could become routine and argued that building more large battery storage would reduce how often they occur.
- Big industrial users captured most of the windfall, while a slice of retail customers on real-time tariffs reported credits for timed EV charging from suppliers such as Octopus Energy and Tibber.
- Only a small share of homes can act on short-term prices because smart meters are in just over 5% of households and most customers have not switched to dynamic pricing despite a 2025 offer requirement for all suppliers.
- The European Energy Exchange reported higher 2025 revenue and profit on heavier trading and plans new power futures and expanded carbon trading to serve a market with sharper price swings.