The price of electricity has jumped back to about 5 kroner per kilowatt-hour during periods of high demand starting Tuesday, broadcaster DR reported based on a price calculator from national energy company Andel Energi.
Increased prices compared with recent weeks are expected to continue.
Recent wintery weather has driven people Denmark to turn their radiator dials just as the wind has died down, leaving wind farms idle, Andel Energi functional manager Jack Michael Kristensen said.
“That means we have to find energy for our homes elsewhere. That includes from places like German gas power plants,” he said.
The duration of higher prices is difficult to predict, he added.
“The main thing is that there is more wind. And maybe also more water for hydro power plants so we can get some more sustainable energy for lower prices,” he said.
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The situation is exacerbated because Norwegian and Swedish hydropower facilities are currently underperforming, a Saxobank analyst told DR.
“Low water levels in Norway and Sweden means their production has not been at the level we saw earlier,” raw materials strategist Ole Sloth Hansen told the broadcaster.
Hansen said that the combination of low production due to weather conditions and high demand because of the winter cold are likely to combine to keep prices high.
Aalborg University professor of energy planning Brian Vad Mathiesen said that although the conditions were not optimal, he expected Danish consumers to be able to continue with energy saving measures that can help limit bills.
“It is certain that when the price gets up to five, six or seven kroner, savings can mean a lot for people’s wallets,” he said.
Danish Met office DMI forecasts temperatures to drop to between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius in coming days, with localised sub-zero conditions.
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