Danes faced some of the most expensive electricity hours of the year on Thursday evening, with the raw spot price passing 3 kroner per kWh in both western and eastern Denmark during peak hours.
A sharp evening peak
At 19:00, the raw electricity price reached as high as 3.5 kroner per kWh in both Danish price zones, DK1 (western Denmark) and DK2 (eastern Denmark).
Energy expert Ellen Trolle describes it as a very pronounced evening peak, driven primarily by extremely limited wind power output combined with electricity demand peaking exactly when Danes get home to cook, do laundry or use other energy intensive appliances. When wind and solar are both largely absent, the grid becomes dependent on gas fired power plants, and natural gas prices are currently at historic highs due to the escalating situation around the Strait of Hormuz, feeding directly into electricity prices.
Trolle adds that this underlines the importance of expanding solar and wind energy production, to reduce dependence on gas and better avoid these severe price peaks going forward.
Electricity prices have not been higher than Thursday evening in several months. The last time prices climbed above this level was at 20:00 on 30 June, when the raw electricity price reached almost 4 kroner per kWh.
Thursday evening’s peak prices
| Time | DK1 (West) | DK2 (East) |
|---|---|---|
| 19:00-20:00 | 3.5 kr./kWh | 3.5 kr./kWh |
| 20:00-21:00 | 3.3 kr./kWh | 3.2 kr./kWh |
| 21:00-22:00 | 1.9 kr./kWh | 1.9 kr./kWh |
An expensive start to September
Thursday’s sharp evening price is fortunately among the more unusual, but there is little doubt that September has started expensive for Danish electricity customers.
In fact, the average electricity price so far in September is running higher than in August, which itself ended as the most expensive month since December 2022, making it the priciest month in more than three years. In August, the average electricity price landed at 0.94 kroner per kWh in western Denmark (DK1) and 0.95 kroner per kWh in eastern Denmark (DK2). Ten days into September, the average price stands at 0.98 kroner per kWh in DK1 and 0.96 kroner per kWh in DK2.
Trolle notes that the same factors that pushed August prices up continue to shape the electricity market, with gas prices in particular still climbing. She adds that there are still plenty of cheaper hours to be found, meaning electricity customers can genuinely save money by using electricity price apps, such as Norlys’, to track how prices move throughout the day.
What’s included in the price
The raw electricity price does not tell the whole story. On top of it comes the electricity tariff to state grid operator Energinet, subscription fees, spot surcharges, VAT and the local grid tariff charged by each regional grid company. These tariffs can also vary from hour to hour depending on the pricing model used by individual grid operators.
