Wholesale electricity prices in Poland highest in Europe since April
21:29
Poland has been the leader in wholesale electricity prices in the EU for six months. It was in April that Poland overtook Greece in terms of wholesale prices. From that time until September 2020, the average electricity prices in Poland were €46 / MWh. This is almost half the average for the rest of the EU, which is €31 / MWh.
This state of affairs is caused by the falling prices of gas-fired energy production in Europe. Currently, the least efficient gas power plants turned out to be cheaper to operate than the most efficient coal-fired plants.
Polish electricity wholesale prices depend primarily on the cost of producing electricity from hard coal. Since May, Polish coal has been more expensive than imported coal, and this trend is deepening.
In addition, Poland has one of the lowest percentages of renewable energy sources with zero marginal costs in energy production in Europe – only 13 percent. That means, virtually no hours in Poland depend on zero-cost RES. Meanwhile, in Europe, at the times when renewable energy produces the most intensively energy, it is these power plants that set energy prices.
