Market Summary
April 2023
The market outlook remains positive with energy prices generally continuing a downward trajectory with the next few months seeing significant reductions.
Both UK and EU gas storage is high for this time of year at 65% and 56% respectively which is good news for the winter ahead.
The ongoing strikes in France have caused further problems within the energy market, with Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) imports being unable to dock there. Maintenance delays at several French power plants also took around 17.6 GW of power capacity offline which briefly affected short-term UK energy contracts.
Strong winds caused gas prices to increase briefly as LNG ships struggled to dock, but positively affected wind generation, which contributed to 45% of the generation mix on some days.
Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS)
Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII)
Eligible businesses have 90 days from the 26th of April to apply for the additional support available.
Net Zero News
Drax has taken a step further towards eliminating the use of fossil fuels by moving to convert its last coal power stations to biomass power generation.
Electricity and Gas Prices
Day ahead and summer prices continue to see a downward trend which has dropped by up to 25% from early April which is positive news for the summer.
Winter 2023 prices are still relatively high, with up to 61% premium built into electricity prices due to the uncertainty of how cold the weather will be at that time.
Flexible Purchasing
EPEX Price
Our flexible purchasing customers are buying on EPEX, a European auction for power. Because they auction every hour of each day, customers get the “market average” price as opposed to a fixed-term contract over eg a 12-month period. Being on this product means that you will pay the average of each day for the month and once the market falls the price will follow.
The EPEX price currently is 10.31 p/kWh (commodity). With the non-commodity added to this, the overall rate will be 23 p/kWh+.
Carbon Prices
The price of permits on the European Union's carbon market fell to below €90 a tonne, as weaker industrial output across the region reduces industrial firms' demand for permits and lower natural gas prices led to lower gas-to-coal switch.
The UK ETS has also seen a consistent drop over the month to just above £60 per tonne.
Oil Market
Brent crude prices have gradually decreased throughout April mainly due to the decline of manufacturing activity in China which has reduced demand.
Brent opened at $84.56 at the beginning of the month and has seen a decrease of 7% to $78.86 per barrel.
Get in touch
Our team are independent energy advisors who provide competitive gas, electricity, and water prices for commercial businesses across the region.
Our complete energy management service also includes helping businesses to identify potential savings through energy audits, tax levy rebates and grant funding. We can also help you plan for Net Zero and achieve compliance with our in-house ESOS assessment service.
Contact us for a free initial consultation about your business energy.
0114 327 2645