State of European Power · December 2021
State of European Power — December 2021
Published 2022-01-02 · every figure recomputed live from the Voltcast production database (last: 2026-07-13T23:56Z) · reproduce any number via the API
18
negative price-hours across 40 zones in December 2021
214.76
average day-ahead price, €/MWh, across covered zones
2
zones that cleared below zero at least once
December 2021 closed with 18 negative price-hours across the 40 European bidding zones with full coverage this month — 2 of them cleared below zero at least once. Negative prices are no longer an anomaly; they are a structural feature of a grid where solar and wind routinely outrun demand.
The cheapest market of the month was NO4 (average 59.42 €/MWh); the priciest was IT-NORD (286.78 €/MWh) — a 227 €/MWh gap between two markets inside one coupled European system, which is the whole story of constrained interconnection in one number.
BE logged the most negative hours (12), and the widest intra-month price range belonged to FI: from 13.75 to 1000.07 €/MWh (986.32 €/MWh of spread — the raw material for every battery business case). The single deepest print of the month was -149.99 €/MWh in DE-LU on 2021-12-29.
Every zone, one table
| Zone | Avg €/MWh | Min | Max | Negative hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT | 257.27 | 33.02 | 579.33 | 0 |
| BE | 245.43 | -40.16 | 620 | 12 |
| CH | 282.14 | 32.12 | 532.21 | 0 |
| CZ | 228.59 | 21.36 | 620 | 0 |
| DE-LU | 224.26 | -6.38 | 570.95 | 6 |
| DK1 | 189.25 | 5.71 | 620 | 0 |
| DK2 | 190.96 | 13.75 | 626.06 | 0 |
| EE | 202.55 | 15.64 | 1000.07 | 0 |
| ES | 238.97 | 2.67 | 409 | 0 |
| FI | 193.27 | 13.75 | 1000.07 | 0 |
| FR | 274.51 | 14.76 | 620 | 0 |
| GR | 235.36 | 9.7 | 542.5 | 0 |
| HR | 251.76 | 21.36 | 533.19 | 0 |
| HU | 245.7 | 21.36 | 620 | 0 |
| IE-SEM | 250.4 | 0 | 495.67 | 0 |
| IT-CALA | 264.71 | 94.48 | 533.19 | 0 |
| IT-CNOR | 285.83 | 94.48 | 555 | 0 |
| IT-CSUD | 273.95 | 94.48 | 533.19 | 0 |
| IT-NORD | 286.78 | 94.48 | 555 | 0 |
| IT-SARD | 273.95 | 94.48 | 533.19 | 0 |
| IT-SICI | 264.73 | 94.48 | 533.19 | 0 |
| IT-SUD | 264.91 | 94.48 | 533.19 | 0 |
| LT | 212.11 | 15.64 | 1000.07 | 0 |
| LV | 207.3 | 15.64 | 1000.07 | 0 |
| NL | 237.8 | 0 | 620 | 0 |
| NO1 | 174.35 | 96.94 | 600.16 | 0 |
| NO2 | 174.31 | 96.94 | 600.16 | 0 |
| NO3 | 59.51 | 13.75 | 299.91 | 0 |
| NO4 | 59.42 | 13.75 | 299.91 | 0 |
| NO5 | 173.92 | 96.94 | 600.16 | 0 |
| PL | 179.38 | 42.68 | 529.2 | 0 |
| PT | 239.07 | 2.67 | 409 | 0 |
| RO | 230.14 | 9.7 | 542.5 | 0 |
| RS | 246.37 | 8.09 | 539.91 | 0 |
| SE1 | 64.74 | 13.75 | 299.91 | 0 |
| SE2 | 64.74 | 13.75 | 299.91 | 0 |
| SE3 | 175.63 | 13.75 | 626.06 | 0 |
| SE4 | 182.1 | 13.75 | 626.06 | 0 |
| SI | 252.4 | 21.36 | 533.19 | 0 |
| SK | 231.95 | 21.36 | 620 | 0 |
Method & citation. Hourly means over all published day-ahead auction results
per zone (native 15-minute periods averaged per hour); zones with under 20 reported days excluded. Sources: ENTSO-E
Transparency Platform, SMARD (CC BY 4.0). Reproduce via GET /api/v1/prices/{zone}.
Cite as "Voltcast Research, voltcast.com/research/state-of-european-power-2021-12".