Parachute: gas proxy and SEM forward markets

The ability for market participants to hedge their power price exposure remains limited in the SEM, with a lack of forward products available for trading. This means that market participants are often left fully exposed to the spot market – meaning power contracts for almost immediate delivery – but the prices of these contracts can be very volatile.

However, there is a way around this. When parties do not have access to the forward products they need to hedge their price exposure; proxy hedging can be used. Proxy hedging in the electricity market is when a trader, in the absence of an available forward power contract, buys a closely related commodity instead. In this week’s blog, we discuss this topic further. 

Related thinking

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Home supply and services

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Home supply and services

New forecasts for the January Default Tariff Cap rise to over £3,000 for a typical user

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