Project

Applications of the Nexus-e platform

Rising natural gas prices and their implications for the Swiss electricity system

Electricity prices are surging in Europe
  • Electricity prices are surging in Europe. 
    • In the United Kingdom, wholesale electricity prices have risen to more than 10 times last decade’s average. 
    • The key European Union benchmark power contract has doubled this year. 
    • In Spain, soaring electricity prices are front-page news and have prompted protests against the government. 
    • In Germany, power prices have exceeded their 2008 peak.
  • The price for electricity, much of which is still generated from gas and coal, is soaring due to high natural gas and coal
    • As of September, European natural gas spot prices were about six times what they were at this time in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. 
    • Coal prices have similarly skyrocketed for several reasons, including the gas price surge since coal can substitute for gas in electricity generation