Germany’s Federal Cartel Office to Investigate Recent Power Market Price Spikes
The Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) will scrutinize the recent price spikes on the power market, following a period of low sun and wind that led to record prices in the short term, Andreas Mundt, the office’s president, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung on Monday.
“We will take a close look at the price formation to ensure there is no abuse” Mundt said, adding, “The risk of abuse is indeed given.”
However, the short-term price surges during the period of low power generation could also be a normal and unmanipulated market outcome. The domestic supply was tight, and power had to be imported. The necessary data on the concrete power plant deployment is available to the competition authority. “The energy companies know they are under our supervision” Mundt said.
The office appears to have RWE, the energy giant, in its sights. Mundt said that, according to the office’s investigations, RWE is currently the only company capable of influencing prices by withholding capacity, although this does not mean RWE is doing so. “RWE’s power plant park is indispensable for the German power market” the president of the office stated.
The competitive situation on the power market has not improved recently, Mundt said. RWE is essential for generating electricity in many hours to meet the overall power demand. In contrast, EnBW is the leading provider of regulation energy, which is crucial for the stability of the power grid. Mundt expects the power market to see increasing price fluctuations in the future.