A countertrade arrangement across the Danish-German border has reduced curtailment of Danish turbines and also reduced power prices.
Previously, electricity production of up to 1000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from Danish hardware was stopped annually due to a lack of expansion in the German electricity grid.
A new countertrade arrangement has led to almost no Danish turbines being stopped since then as well as significantly lower prices, according to Energinet.
The countertrade model was fully implemented in July 2023 and, with it, German TSO TenneT’s need to buy down-regulation of Danish electricity production, which was moved from the Danish regulating power market to the cross-border intraday market.
This created a much larger market with many more players.
In the first half of 2023, the difference between the average price when handling in the regulating power market and the average spot price of electricity was on average €42/MWh.
In the second half of 2023, the difference between the average price when selling countertrade in the intraday market and the average price in the spot market averaged €15.9/MWh.
The latter has, with a few exceptions, been decreasing since implementation, and in February and March this year, the price difference was down to a modest €3.4/MWh.
Prices for down-regulation have thus fallen significantly after the market has expanded.
The transition to the new model has meant that the countertrade volumes are now being sold at prices that reflect the increased liquidity that the switch from special regulation in the regulating power market to the intraday market has entailed.