Since the beginning of the year, Belgium has recorded 55 hours of negative prices for electricity, the highest in the past 12 years, De Standaard reported on Monday.
In other words, a large number of consumers receive money for their electricity since the beginning of 2019.
The record figures are partly explained by a temporary malfunction of software used by the European Power Exchange (EPEX) on 7 June which meant Belgian electricity could not be sold in the Netherlands, France and the UK. The price of electricity on 8 June had dropped to an extraordinary value of minus 500 euros per megawatt-hour.
Computer bug aside, 2019 has already been a record in terms of excess. Negative prices are applicable on days when there is a high percentage of renewable energy, when the plants are in full swing and when the surplus can be sold abroad.
This is often the case on weekends and holidays, or in spring and summer when the demand is more limited.
The Brussels Times
Source: Belga
