Europe power prices soar to 6-month high

Bloomberg

European power prices surged to the highest level since December after Germany took a step closer to rationing natural gas supplies amid cuts to flows from Russia.
Rising gas prices have been pushing up the cost of electricity across Europe, fuelling inflation and increasing the economic burden on businesses and households still recovering from the pandemic.
German power for next year surged as much as 4.5% to 256 euros a megawatt hour, reaching the highest since Dec. 23, on the European Energy Exchange. The French equivalent gained 1.6% to 320 euros a megawatt hour, also reaching the most since December.
“European power prices jumped as a result of lower gas supplies and renewed concerns for the winter balance,” Carlos Torres Diaz, senior vice president at Rystad Energy AS said in an emailed note. “Supply disruptions are creating a tighter European balance.”
The increase in gas prices is also boosting demand for coal as a power source, a polluting alternative that could be increasingly called upon this winter if gas supplies remain disrupted. European coal futures for next year rose as much as 4% to $270 a ton.