Wholesale prices

  • Press Releases

    The gap between cheapest energy fixed tariff and price cap narrows

    Research from Cornwall Insight’s ‘Domestic supplier insight service reveals the gap between the cheapest tariff on the market and the default tariff price cap has reduced to its lowest level since February 2019, standing at £219/year. This is 40% less than at the end of April 2020 when it was...

  • Media Mentions

    The Guardian | Energy bill savings

    Our predictions showing approximately a £100 fall in the price cap for this winter was featured in The Guardian today. This is following a record low energy market prices during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to analysts. We are expecting to see a significant decrease to the default price cap in...

  • Press Releases

    Renewable generator revenues fall due to COVID-19 lockdown

    Research from Cornwall Insight’s Green Power Forecast reveals there has been a sharp decline in generator revenues. Solar and wind technologies have been particularly impacted by low demand levels due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Solar PV captured prices were, on average, 8.4% and 14.9% below baseload levels in March and...

  • Press Releases

    COVID-19 impacts: gas and power prices over the summer months

    As Great Britain (GB) is starting to move through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been some indications that the energy market could be passing its trough. Tim Dixon, Wholesale Team Lead at Cornwall Insight, looks into how GB gas & power prices may shape up over the...

  • Press Releases

    COVID-19 impacts: Surge in negative pricing

    As a consequence of COVID-19 and its effect on energy demand, wind now represents a more substantial proportion of Great Britain’s (GB) energy mix. At the same time, CCGT plant is having to respond to lower load factors. This has resulted in not only record low wholesale prices but a...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight Ireland comments on negative wholesale prices in the SEM

    On 5 April the Irish Single Electricity Market (SEM) experienced a negative day-ahead trading price for almost the whole day. The below graph shows the day-ahead market starting at -€6.0/MWh, before falling as low as -€14.5/MWh at 2:00 pm. Overall, the day saw 20 of the hourly settlement periods outturn...

  • Press Releases

    Oil prices crash causes GB gas and power prices to go into freefall

    Following the impacts of Covid-19 on global demand and oil price disputes between Russia and Saudi Arabia, Brent crude oil prices fell to a 17-year low of below $26/bl on 18 March 2020. The recent crash saw prices record the most significant daily loss since the end of the Gulf...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight comments on the effects of Coronavirus causing drop in oil price

    Commenting on the effects of Coronavirus on the global oil price Joe Camish, Analyst at Cornwall Insight, said: “As a result of travel bans escalating and social restrictions imposed due to the Coronavirus worldwide, there has been a sharp fall in global oil demand. This has seen Brent crude oil...

  • Press Releases

    Highest offshore wind load factors recorded since 2015

    Latest research from Cornwall Insight highlights that as a result of the elevated wind speeds experienced in January onshore wind load factors averaged 42% for the month, and older offshore sites (pre-2016) reached an average of 52%. Newer (post-2016) windfarms fared much better with offshore wind farms load factors averaging...

  • Press Releases

    Price cap declines but is expected to fall further still

    Commenting on today’s Ofgem announcement that the default price cap would decrease by £17 to £1,162 for the six months effective from 1 April 2020, Robert Buckley Head of Retail and Relationship Development at Cornwall Insight, said: “Due to the mild winter the UK has experienced, it will have come...

  • Press Releases

    Middle East tensions have the potential to increase energy bills

    The risk of direct military conflict between the US and Iran following missile strikes by US forces on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on 3rd January has been reflected in the oil market, given the potential disruption to supplies from the region. Such volatility is set to reverberate across...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight comments on negative wholesale prices recorded for the first time

    On 9 December the UK experienced a negative day-ahead trading price for the first time, with prices for 03:00 AM to 04:00 AM UTC delivery on the hourly day-ahead auction dropping to -£2.84/MWh. This was caused by exceptionally high wind generation in GB throughout the weekend combined with low demand...

  • Press Releases

    Brexit considerations for the energy sector

    Since the Supreme Court ruling on the prorogation of Parliament and MPs arriving back in Westminster, attention has been re-focused on the UK’s departure from the European Union. The country is being told to get prepared for Brexit on the 31 October, and businesses are trying to navigate what it...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight comments on Tuesday’s wholesale power price surge

    Tuesday saw a series of events in the UK and Europe wholesale gas and power markets that contributed to a sharp day-on-day jump in prices, putting a stop to the recent downward trend in wholesale prices. Tuesday’s incidents: In France, news of problems with components to a critical supplier of...

  • Press Releases

    Price cap falling but set to rise in April 2020

    Today, Ofgem announced the default price cap would decrease by £75 to £1,179 per year for the six months effective from 1 October 2019. However, this is unlikely to last with Cornwall Insight’s Price Cap Predictor showing the default price cap is set to increase by at least £30 for...

  • Press Releases

    Pricing and renewables: estimating the new Celtic Interconnector use

    Earlier this month Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a letter confirming plans to build a new 700MW Celtic Interconnector. With the looming context of Brexit, volatile energy prices and discussions about how to enable high volumes of renewables, Cornwall Insight Ireland has examined the likely flows...

  • Press Releases

    Can market driven subsidy-free PPAs deliver deeper, wider decarbonisation?

    In a week in which the prospect of legislating for net-zero is again in the headlines, a solid prospectus for delivering deeper and wider power sector decarbonisation has never been more critical. A positive outcome of the closure of subsidy schemes has been the way in which resilient and adaptable...

  • Press Releases

    A glimpse into the future of wholesale power

    Over the Easter holidays, the UK bathed in warm sunshine and as a result, the GB wholesale power market experienced a series of notable events, some that would have once been rare. High levels of embedded solar generation reduced the need for grid-connected energy production, causing the minimum daytime demand...

  • Press Releases

    Price cap rising today but is predicted to fall in October

    Today, Ofgem announced the price cap will increase by £117 to £1,254. Cornwall Insight’s tariff cap predictor (graph below) was forecasting a new cap level of £1,250 back in November 2018 only £4 out. However, with wholesale cost pressure starting to fall Cornwall Insight’s early predictions for winter 2019 show...