The role of natural gas in setting electricity prices in Europe

Energies

This study analyzes European natural gas (NG) prices since the eve of the 2008 financial crisis. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients associate prices with and without taxation, whereas a hierarchical clustering analysis clarifies similarities in NG pricing behavior. After performing econometric tests to ensure the satisfaction of classical hypotheses and identify a system of endogenous variables, structured unrestricted and restricted vector autoregressive models are applied to panel data composed of 34 spatial units and 31 units of time drawn from 2007–2022 to confirm the presence of short-term and long-term causal dependencies. The nonparametric analysis identifies three groups of countries that exhibit a differentiated pricing behavior. The parametric analysis reveals a significant and asymmetric short run relation, which is imposed by liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Nigeria on the logarithm of NG prices. However, the sign of coefficients associated with lagged LNG ...

CGEP, Columbia University, 2018

The Center on Global Energy Policy provides independent, balanced, data-driven analysis to help policymakers navigate the complex world of energy. We approach energy as an economic, security, and environmental concern. And we draw on the resources of a worldclass institution, faculty with real-world experience, and a location in the world's finance and media capital.

2008

We apply the EMF 23 study design to simulate the effects of the reference case and the scenarios to European natural gas supplies to 2025. We use GASMOD, a strategic several-layer model of European gas supply, consisting of upstream natural gas producers, traders in each consuming European country (or region), and final demand. Our model results suggest rather modest changes in the overall supply situation of natural gas to Europe, indicating that current worries about energy supply security issues may be overrated. LNG will likely increase its share of European natural gas imports in the future, Russia will not dominate the European imports (~ share of 1/3), the Middle East will continue to be a rather modest supplier, the UK is successfully converting from being a natural gas exporter to become a transit node for LNG towards continental Europe, and congested pipeline infrastructure, and in some cases LNG terminals, will remain a feature of the European gas markets, but less than in the current situation.

International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy

Cointegration relationships among electricity, gas, oil and coal are explored using panel data models for both the industrial and household sectors in 22 countries in Europe between 1996 and 2013. A shorter period, to account for the allowances market creation in Europe is also considered through a dummy (2005-2013) to capture the absence and presence of the CO 2 price effect respectively. Empirical findings reveal that electricity and fuel prices are non-stationary and cointegrated series. So, the current paper accounts for cross-section dependence when analyzing the electricity-fuel nexus. Results indicate that there exists a stronger long run equilibrium relationship between electricity prices and fuel prices in the industry sector, while both a short and long run equilibrium relationship in the household sector. These differences may be explained by the industry higher resilience in long run contracts within the energy sector and by the fact that households bear a larger share of the cost of taxes and levies.

Journal of Economics and Finance, 2022

European power markets are in the midst of unprecedented changes, with a record-breaking surge in energy prices. This paper investigates the impact of the green transition on the level and volatility of wholesale electricity prices at a granular level, using monthly observations for a panel of 24 European countries over the period 2014–2021 and alternative estimation methods including a panel quantile regression approach. We find that renewable energy is associated with a significant reduction in wholesale electricity prices in Europe, with an average impact of 0.6 percent for each 1 percentage points increase in renewable share. We also find evidence for a nonlinear effect—that is, higher the share of renewables, the greater its effect on electricity prices. On the other hand, while quantile estimation results are mixed with regards to the impact of renewables on the volatility of electricity prices, we obtain evidence that renewable energy has a negative effect on volatility at the highest quantiles. Overall, our analysis indicates that policy reforms can help accelerate the green transition while minimizing the volatility in electricity prices.

Energies, 2022

How dependent are European power systems and economies on natural gas? To answer this pressing question, we coupled a simulation model for assessing security of electricity supply and an economic optimization model. With this, we were able to analyze different reduction scenarios of the amount of gas utilized in the power sector. Our results show that reducing the amount of natural gas in the European power sector by up to 30% has a relatively moderate impact on the security of electricity supply. Restrictions of 40% or more result in substantially higher reductions in electricity demand shortfall and are associated with economic costs of more than EUR 77 billion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a close coordination of gas distribution on a European level would be instrumental in mitigating negative economic consequences. Finally, it can be deduced that a coordinated delay of planned power plant shutdowns could effectively compensate for reduced gas volumes in the electricity sector.

2014

The Surrey Energy Economics Centre (SEEC) consists of members of the School of Economics who work on energy economics, environmental economics and regulation. The School of Economics has a long-standing tradition of energy economics research from its early origins under the leadership of Professor Colin Robinson. This was consolidated in 1983 when the University established SEEC, with Colin as the Director; to study the economics of energy and energy markets. SEEC undertakes original energy economics research and since being established it has conducted research across the whole spectrum of energy economics, including the international oil market, North Sea oil & gas, UK & international coal, gas privatisation & regulation, electricity privatisation & regulation, measurement of efficiency in energy industries, energy & development, energy demand modelling & forecasting, and energy & the environment. SEEC research output includes SEEDS-Surrey Energy Economic Discussion paper Series and SEERS-Surrey Energy Economic Report Series (details at www.seec.surrey.ac.uk/Research/SEEDS.htm) as well as a range of other academic papers, books and monographs. SEEC also runs workshops and conferences that bring together academics and practitioners to explore and discuss the important energy issues of the day SEEC also attracts a large proportion of the School's PhD students and oversees the MSc in Energy Economics & Policy. Many students have successfully completed their MSc and/or PhD in energy economics and gone on to very interesting and rewarding careers, both in academia and the energy industry.

Estudios De Economia Aplicada, 2011

2016

The macroeconomic and sectoral effects of differentials in energy prices between the EU and the non-EU countries in the horizon to 2050 are assessed with the use of GEM-E3, a Computable General Equilibrium model. Alternative scenario variants are quantified: In the first case EU policies and market structures regarding taxation, penetration of RES in power generation and higher market power of EU energy producers lead to higher EU energy prices compared to those recorded in the non-EU countries. In the second variant developments in non-EU countries lead to lower energy prices as compared to those in the EU. Simulation results show that higher EU energy prices lower EU GDP compared to the baseline case. The impact ranges in magnitude between 0.02-0.41%, cumulatively over 2015-2050, depending on the drivers of price differentials and on the use of the additional tax revenues generated. Taxation and power generation mix policies are found to have the largest impact on economic activity. The results indicate the challenges of electricity and gas price developments that EU policy making needs to address in the following years so as to ensure long-term competitiveness and growth.

Energies

Using daily data, we investigate the relationship between European LNG prices, carbon prices (CO2), electricity wholesale prices and changes in the electricity sector’s energy mix in Greece, using a vector error correction model (VECM). The results indicate that an increase in the daily average price of natural gas has the expected impact on Greece’s wholesale electricity price. As expected, gas and other fossil fuels act as substitute goods, while higher imports of electricity lower prices and have a negative impact on fossil fuel shares. Interestingly, carbon prices do not appear to have any significant impact on any variables, while the higher production of electricity from renewable sources pushes wholesale electricity prices down.