Germany’s day-ahead market posts 389 hours of negative prices in H1

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From pv magazine Germany

Germany’s day-ahead electricity spot price was negative for 162 hours in May, out of a total of 720 hours for the month, according to data from Fraunhofer ISE.

Negative prices occurred on 22 of 30 days in June, typically when PV systems were operating at full capacity – between mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Fraunhofer ISE’s Energy Charts recorded 141 hours of negative prices in June. For another 12 hours, the price was exactly zero. A total of 162 hours in June saw the price below this level, with a maximum low of €0.05 ($0.06)/kWh.

That marks a slight decline from May. In the first half of this year, however, negative prices in Germany totaled 389 hours, nearly reaching the 2023 total of 399 hours. In 2024, the total climbed to 457 hours. This year’s figure is expected to exceed that.

Energy Charts data show that, in addition to the 389 hours of negative prices in the first half of 2025, there were 38 hours when the day-ahead price was exactly €0.00/kWh. For 474 hours, the price reached a low of €0.05/kWh.

At 8 p.m. (CEST) on June 30, the day-ahead electricity price was listed at just under €0.289/kWh – the highest value for the month. Peak daily prices in June often occurred between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. The month’s lowest price was recorded on June 22 at 1 p.m., at -€0.099/kWh.

The European Power Exchange EPEX Spot reported the average day-ahead price for June in Germany at €0.0642/kWh. Daily average prices ranged from €0.0226/kWh on June 8 to €0.1024/kWh on June 30.

On June 30, the sun shone across much of Germany under clear skies. However, day-ahead prices did not fall below zero. That contrasts with 22 days in June when the price dropped below €0.00/kWh.

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