European Power Pulse — week 2026-W31

European day-ahead prices firmed in week 2026-W31, with the fleet-wide average across 47 zones rising to 210.51 EUR/MWh from 192.02 the previous week. The increase was concentrated at the extremes rather than broadly based, leaving much of the picture mixed underneath a higher headline number.

The Nordic north again anchored the cheap end. NO4 averaged 6.74 EUR/MWh, down 5.08 week on week, followed by SE1 at 14.01 and FI at 14.69, each with lows near 1.85 and no negative hours. At the opposite extreme, Ukraine averaged 4865.57 and set the week's high at 14975.76, dwarfing the next dearest zones, IT-SICI at 184.14 and IT-CNOR at 178.07.

UA was also the largest mover, up 736.71 on the week. The clearest declines came in the Baltic and Nordic east: SE4 fell 45.36 to 27.57, and LV dropped 36.66 to 37.66, though both retained wide ranges. Negative pricing totalled 180.5 hours across the fleet, led by DE-LU with 45 hours and a low of -4.77, FR with 35.5 hours, GR with 30, NL with 27 and BE with 20. PL recorded the extreme low at -8.27 across 7.5 negative hours.

On our own scoreboard, we scored 46 zones and beat the baseline in 38, for an average improvement of 7.4 percent, with IE-SEM, SI and XK among the clearest wins. We fell short in UA and SE4, where volatility outran the model; under our guarantee, those losing zones are free.