Recommendations for the Dutch Electricity Market
Published by The Brattle Group, Ltd
In late June and early July 2001, the Amsterdam Power Exchange (APX) witnessed extraordinary price spikes. For two weeks, prices frequently reached levels of 600 €/MWh or more, with peaks reaching 1,200 €/MWh. We have compared these spikes to historical pool prices in England & Wales, and determined that over a period of several years, England & Wales has never witnessed a similar episode.
The unusual nature of the price spikes has provoked a serious and broad analysis of the Dutch power market. We have examined whether the price spikes could be attributed to insufficient capacity relative to demand in the Netherlands. However our analysis shows that the reserve margin in the Netherlands is not significantly lower than has been witnessed in other countries.
