POWER: End of Day Power Summary: French-German March Discount Widens to Feb High

The French-German March discount is on track to widen from the previous session to reach its highest since 31 January to be at €17.55/MWh at the time of writing amid stronger losses in France owing to stable nuclear availability and as average temperatures are anticipated to warm up at a quicker pace than Germany. Generally, CWE costs are in the red today due to losses in the energy complex.

• Nordic Base Power MAR 25 down 9% at 41.25 EUR/MWh
• France Base Power MAR 25 down 9% at 81.5 EUR/MWh
• Germany Base Power MAR 25 down 7.3% at 99.05 EUR/MWh
• EUA DEC 25 down 2.7% at 78.12 EUR/MT
• TTF Gas MAR 25 down 7.9% at 51.26 EUR/MWh
• Rotterdam Coal MAR 25 down 1.6% at 100.6 USD/MT
• TTF front month saw significant declines today, under pressure by the prospect of peace talks over the Ukraine war and as countries push for the EU to relax gas storage targets, with Germany reportedly requesting an exemption from storage targets this year.
• EU ETS December 2025 has been on a general downward trend since the early morning owing to losses in TTF  and coal, while declines have been bolstered by warmer weather in NW Europe and higher wind heading into next week – specifically in Germany – which could reduce the call on fossil fuel-fired units.
• Italy-France plan to present a joined request to include CBAM reform as a central topic at the upcoming EU Competitiveness Council on 6 March.
• The UK ETS Authority opened consultation on extending the ETS beyond 2030.
• The latest Ofgem data showed that the UK Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) issued in Oct 2024 hit a three-month low, and an eight-year low in seasonality.
• Planned maintenance at EdF’s 620MW Hartlepool 2 nuclear plant will start earlier than expected on 15 February, from 27 February previously scheduled.
• The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) warns that without urgent grid upgrades, 75% of large industrial sites in Great Britain could face electricity constraints by 2040, potentially hindering decarbonisation efforts and industrial growth.
• France aims to prioritise investments upgrading its electricity network over building new interconnector from 2030.
• The Netherlands could have delays in its nuclear new build plans, with the first reactor now unlikely to be operational by 2035 as the government has reintroduced Eemshaven as a potential site for two new reactors.
• Svenska Kraftnat and Danish Energinet are upgrading the 715MW Konti-Skan 1 and 2 electricity connections between Sweden and Denmark to increase transmission capacity by 285W to 1GW.
• Europe could see data centres that account for 937MW of power demand come online this year, compared with 655MW in 2024.