Strong winds dragged Nordic wind farms to generate electricity at full capacity on Monday from 3:00 to 7:00, pushing electricity prices into negative territory.
Swedish energy company Tibber told Dagens Nyheter that favorable wind conditions brought electricity prices into negative territory. The same phenomenon occurred in Finland, according to the Nordic power exchange Nord Pool.
Antti PaananenThe energy agency’s market leader said this was the first time this year that electricity prices had fallen below zero.
"Last year, prices were negative three times, and last February was the first time in history that there were negative electricity prices in Finland," he said.
Small immediate benefit
Consumers whose electricity contracts are directly tied to the power exchange will benefit the most from the negative price drop. However, the savings are likely to be small as electricity distribution prices remain in place.
Negative electricity prices are more common in Denmark and Germany, which have more wind power capacity than in Finland.
Paananen told Yle that the current technology does not allow electricity storage.
"At present, production and consumption must be in balance. There are currently no solutions for large-scale electricity storage, but technology is constantly evolving," he explained.
In 2020, electricity prices fell below zero for nine hours in three days.