POWER: Weekly News Highlights MNI Power Service Part 2/2 Week 5

See below the weekly news highlights of the MNI power Service for the week 27-31 January.

• Sweden’s 448MW Oresundsverket Malmo gas unit remains offline for recommissioning, with test runs at varying loads ongoing until 17 February. The unit has been offline since June 2023.
• The synchronisation of the Baltic countries with the EU Grid on 9 February is expected to have minimal impact on power prices, as initial commercial exchanges with Poland will be limited and existing Nordic connections will stabilise the market according to ICIS.
• Orsted and PGE have taken the FID on the 1.5GW Baltica 2 offshore wind farm that is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2027.
• EMISSIONS – The UK has requested that re-linking the UK ETS with the EU ETS is part of the planned spring summit between the EU and the UK, officials with knowledge of the discussions told the FT.
• The latest bullish momentum in EU carbon prices could see some downside risks in February, with an expected drop in power sector emissions, while a risk of lower gas prices could further limit the upside in EUAs according to BNEF.
• Speculator positioning in EU ETS futures on the ICE exchange turned again more bullish on the week with net long positionings at the highest since the week of 10 September 2021, the latest COT data as of 24 January showed.
• Switzerland is planning to reduce GHG emissions by at least 65% by 2035 vs 1990 levels as part of the country’s new climate plan. The country further plans to reduce emissions by an average of 59% between 2031 and 2035.
• The UK has formally submitted its NDC in which it reiterated targets to reduce GHG emissions by 81% versus 1990 levels by 2035.
• The German Parliament on Friday passed a legislative proposal – THEG – and thereby adopted the reform of the European emissions trading system that came into force in 2023.
• NATGAS – The European Commission has denied a report from the FT that the EU was debating the possibility of restarting Russian gas supplies as part of a Ukraine peace deal.
• EU diplomats met on Wednesday to discuss the proposed 16th sanctions package, which does not include a ban on Russian LNG imports and could potentially water down previous sanctions.
• The EU net withdrawal rate in the week to Jan. 27 averaged 8% below normal at 6,333GWh/d compared to 32% above normal the previous week at 9,259GWh/d.
• Majority of European regasification capacity now in the money, potentially leading to more flexible LNG cargoes heading to Europe, Spark Commodities reports.
• Freeport LNG resumes shipments on 26 January after power outage, Kpler tracking indicates.