Scandinavian countries predicted a sharp rise in electricity prices this winter

Water shortage and dependence on the gas market

Denmark, Sweden and Norway may face a sharp rise in electricity prices this coming winter. This is reported by the outlet Oilcapital citing a report from the Danish energy company MIND Energy; the warning is also covered by Gazeta.Ru. The causes cited are a shortage of water for hydroelectric power plants due to shrinking rivers and problems with gas supplies to Europe.

What the MIND Energy data show

According to the company's report, water reserves for power generation in Northern Europe are currently 11 TWh below the usual level. As a result, the southern parts of the region have become heavily dependent on the situation in the European energy market: in windless weather, electricity prices in Denmark and in southern Sweden and Norway are determined by the cost of energy produced by gas-fired plants in Germany. The gas factor, experts believe, complicates the situation: European storage facilities are not fully filled, and LNG supplies from the Middle East are delayed due to the conflict between Iran and the United States.

Prices are already breaking records

The price increase is already noticeable: in southern Norway, the average price of electricity has exceeded €130 per MWh, breaking the 2022 record. In cold and windless weather, prices in Norway, Sweden and Denmark rise above €200 per MWh. For comparison, the outlet recalls another recent event in the region's energy market: the sharp price increase in the Baltic countries after Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia left the BRELL unified power grid shared with Russia and Belarus. Separately, it was previously reported that Europe was predicted an expensive winter due to the gas situation — the Scandinavian forecast fits into this overall picture, but is based on its own data on the water shortage.