The EU’s gas and electricity markets began to normalise at the end of 2022, according to the Commission’s latest quarterly reports on the gas and electricity markets, published on 17 May.
Although wholesale and retail gas prices have remained historically high, they fell in the last quarter of 2022 compared with last summer.
“In particular, record levels of gas storage, significant reductions in European gas demand, sustained LNG imports and a mild winter have helped Europe to diversify away from Russian gas imports”, the Commission said.
The TTF spot price first fell in October to 30 euros/MWh, as a number of LNG cargoes could not be unloaded at hubs in north-west Europe due to high storage saturation and grid congestion. It then rebounded in November, reaching almost 150 euros/MWh in early December. It finally fell back to around 70 euros/MWh at the end of the year.
“The downward trend has continued until 2023 and should define the market for the foreseeable future”, continued the Commission.
Retail gas prices have also fallen significantly in large parts of the EU.
As for electricity, the fall in consumption has helped to ease wholesale prices. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the European Power Benchmark averaged 187 euros/MWh. This is 4% less than for the same period in 2021.
To see the quarterly report on European gas markets: https://aeur.eu/f/72s
To see the quarterly report on European electricity markets: https://aeur.eu/f/72u (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)