By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

For increases in electricity bills that can reach up to 30% – if there are no discounts from the providers – developments in the electricity market suggest.

Him April the average wholesale price was at €60/MWh and May is currently at €79/MWh, an increase of 31.2% which will of course translate into increases in retail bills. The green floating tariffs that the vast majority of households are on will also be affected, as well as the yellow ones whose pricing is based on the ex post wholesale price, i.e. at the end of the month. Those with a blue invoice, which is contracted at a fixed price, will remain unaffected.

The increase in prices is attributed to the fact of the drastic change in the situation in relation to the participation of natural gas in the production mix. It is characteristic that in mid-April the participation of natural gas according to the Energy Exchange was around 13%. Yesterday it reached 50% reducing as is reasonable the participation of RES which also reduce costs.

At the same time that the participation of natural gas in the mix of the Greek market was increasing, its international price was also increasing. From €24/MWh at the beginning of April, it reached €35/Mwh, an increase of almost 46%, which is also the highest price of natural gas since on December 14.

A variety of factors have contributed to the increase in international prices.

The closer we get to the end of 2024, the more jitters in the market will increase as the Russian-Ukrainian contract for the transport of Russian gas expires, the Ukrainians are understandably unwilling to enter into contract renewal talks with Gazprom that the Russians are bombarding them with . At the same time, however, central European countries such as e.g. Slovakia, Hungary, Austria they are pushing for talks to take place.
The situation was further complicated by an alarming warning from Austrian energy giant OMV, which announced that European courts could block payments to Gazprom at any time, cutting off supplies to Austria, which is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas. .

To some extent, the increase in prices can also be attributed to seasonal reasons. If we are not going through it already, we are entering the period where a competition will begin between European states to store natural gas for the coming winter.

Weather conditions also affect as the winds have subsided and with them the share of wind power while occasionally and whenever the Norwegians they will decide – often without informing – to maintain their network, this will also affect the prices.

Market conditions are working upwards and in terms of its supplies LNG. On the one hand, as long as the crisis persists in the Middle East, which makes the Suez Canal – through which 8-10% of the world’s LNG passes – a “burnt” zone, prices will be pushed upwards. At the same time, there is also a global competition with Asian countries which are affected by prolonged heatwaves for the attraction of LNG. Only imports from China – which is also accelerating its economic activity – rose in the first quarter of this year by around 20%.