OrganisationFR
EPEX SPOT
European Power Exchange operating day-ahead and intraday electricity markets across Central Western Europe including Germany and France.
Last refreshed: 22 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Key Question
Why did the France-Germany power price gap double in a single session?
Timeline for EPEX SPOT
#1122 May
Germany cannot inject at this price
European Energy Markets#1121 May
Cleared France-Germany day-ahead spread at EUR 46.58/MWh on 21 May
European Energy Markets: FR-DE day-ahead spread doubles to EUR 46.58Common Questions
- Why did the France-Germany electricity price spread double in May 2026?
- Germany's gas-fired CCGT plants set the day-ahead clearing price while France's nuclear fleet suppressed French prices, widening the spread to EUR 46.58/MWh on 21 May 2026.Source: EPEX SPOT / european-energy-markets briefing
- What is EPEX SPOT and how does it set European electricity prices?
- EPEX SPOT is the pan-European power exchange running day-ahead and intraday auctions in 13 countries; clearing prices from these auctions are used by generators and industrial buyers as their operational benchmark.Source: EPEX SPOT official
- Who owns EPEX SPOT?
- EPEX SPOT is a joint venture of Deutsche Börse and Powernext, with Powernext being a subsidiary of EDF. It is headquartered in Paris.Source: EPEX SPOT official
- How does EPEX SPOT connect to ENTSO-E market coupling?
- EPEX SPOT operates within the Pan-European Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC) coordinated by ENTSO-E, meaning its auction results determine cross-border power flows and clear the single European market.Source: ENTSO-E / EPEX SPOT
Background
EPEX SPOT's France-Germany day-ahead spread has been a volatility signal throughout the 2026 energy crisis: it widened to EUR 46.58 on 21 May as CCGT-set pricing in Germany diverged from French nuclear-suppressed prices. The spread is the real-time readout of whether German baseload is gas-set or renewable-set, and procurement teams use it to time industrial load-switching decisions.
How the World Sees Them
German industry
EPEX day-ahead price sets their real-time energy cost; CCGT-marginal days in 2026 pushed prices to EUR 62-68/MWh, threatening continuous-process economics.
French utilities
French nuclear surplus has suppressed EPEX France prices, widening the FR-DE spread and limiting export revenue when German gas-fired generation sets the clearing price.
EU regulators (ACER)
EPEX price data feeds REMIT surveillance; the platform's transparency is central to detecting market manipulation under the REMIT 2.0 reporting regime.