Electricity consumption (network load) this June totalled 39.3 TWh, 8.0% higher than in June 2020. As in May, consumption was nearly the same as before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Electricity generation totalled 38.6 TWh, around 9.0% higher than in June 2020. Overall, renewable generation was 2.1% lower despite the high solar output, while conventional generation was 19.1% higher.

Highest monthly solar PV output

Solar PV generation reached a new record high this June. At 7.1 TWh it was the highest monthly output since at least 2015. Solar PV accounted for 18.5% of total generation in June.
By contrast, less windy conditions resulted in lower wind generation compared with last June. Onshore wind generation was down 31.7% and offshore wind generation down 27.6%.

Generation from renewable energy sources reached its highest hourly level of 56.7 gigawatt hours (GWh) between 2pm and 3pm on Saturday 12 June and was able to meet the total demand for electricity during this hour. Wind generators made the largest contribution with 28.4 GWh. Solar PV contributed 21.3 GWh and biomass 4.8 GWh. Hydropower and other renewables produced the remaining 2.2 GWh.

Renewable generation also reached its highest daily level on 12 June. Overall, renewables met the total demand for electricity between 1:15pm and 6pm that day.

The share of electricity demand that cannot be covered by wind or solar PV generation is referred to as the residual load. The lower the residual load, the higher the share of the electricity demand covered by these two energy sources. The lowest residual load of the month was also on 12 June. Between 3:15pm and 3:30pm it was just 162 megawatt hours (MWh), the lowest since at least 2015.

When renewable generation is very high, as on 12 June, electricity can be used to fill pumped storage reservoirs. The electricity offtake of pumped storage is new on the SMARD website as an addition to electricity consumption. Between 1:15pm and 6pm the electricity used for pumped storage totalled 17.2 GWh. (See the second chart in the above gallery.) When electricity prices are high or when balancing services are activated, the stored energy is used again to produce electricity by releasing the water back from an upper to a lower reservoir.

Wholesale electricity prices

The average wholesale price in Germany was 74.08 euros per megawatt hour (€/MWh) and nearly three times as high as in June 2020 (€26.18/MWh). This follows the trend seen in April and May of this year.

As in the previous months, one of the reasons for the higher average price was the higher electricity consumption, which was up 8.0% year-on-year. Another is what are known as the relative generation costs. These include the costs of fuels and the cost of carbon emission allowances, which in turn depend on other factors. These costs were considerably higher this month than a year earlier.

Prices higher than €100/MWh were recorded in 44 of the 720 hours of trading this June, which led to a higher average. No prices above €100/MWh were recorded in June 2020. There was a similar difference in the highest prices recorded. The highest price in June 2020 was €60.75/MWh, while this June it was €139.72/MWh and more than twice as high. By contrast, there was only a small difference in the number of hours with negative wholesale prices, with 8 hours in June 2020 and 9 hours this June.

The highest price on the exchange of €139.72/MWh was recorded between 7pm and 8pm on Wednesday 23 June, when an electricity consumption of 59.7 GWh coincided with a low level of renewable generation (13.6 GWh) and the high residual load led to a necessary high level of conventional generation (41.4 GWh).

The lowest price of negative €36.72/MWh was recorded between 2pm and 3pm on Sunday 13 June. During this hour, renewable generation was 48.7 GWh and higher than the electricity consumption (grid load) of 46.5 GWh.

Commercial foreign trade

Germany imported 875.6 GWh more electricity than it exported in June, making it a net importer as in May. Net imports in June 2020 had totalled 232.9 GWh. Two reasons for the higher imports are the higher demand for electricity and the lower output from wind generators.

In June 2021 Germany was a net exporter of electricity to:
•    Austria, with 450.9 GWh (up 359.9% from June 2020);
•    Luxembourg, with 309.8 GWh (up 2.6% from June 2020);
•    the Netherlands, with 289.4 GWh (up 1,815.2% from June 2020);
•    Czechia, with 105.0 GWh (up 138.7% from June 2020).

Germany was a net importer of electricity from:
•    Switzerland, with 553.4 GWh (down 42.8% from June 2020);
•    Norway, with 470.0 GWh (trading was not yet possible in June 2020);
•    Denmark, with 428.7 GWh (net exports in June 2020);
•    France, with 426.9 GWh (up 17.0% from June 2020);
•    Belgium, with 71.6 GWh (trading was not yet possible in June 2020);
•    Sweden, with 55.6 GWh (down 54.2% from June 2020);
•    Poland, with 24.2 GWh (net exports in June 2020).

The chart gives an overview of Germany's commercial electricity trade in June. (Gross) exports are shown above the zero line while (gross) imports are shown below the zero line.

At what point in time electricity is imported or exported does not depend solely on supply and demand in the country in question, but also on the electricity prices in the other countries. There is an interaction between supply and demand across the whole of Europe. Changes in imports and exports can also be the result of price fluctuations and are part of normal market activity. Electricity is produced within Europe wherever it is cheapest. When Germany imports electricity, it benefits from the more favourable conditions for generation in other countries, and vice versa.

One reason this month why net imports were higher is that the German wholesale prices were relatively higher. It was worthwhile for Germany to buy electricity from neighbouring countries. The overall average price in the neighbouring countries was €72.54/MWh and lower than the German average price (€74.08/MWh). However, there was a difference between the range of prices in some countries and that in Germany (from negative €36.72/MWh to €139.72/MWh). For instance, wholesale prices in Switzerland, from which net imports were highest, ranged from negative €50.02/MWh to €119.66/MWh. By contrast, prices in Norway ranged from €1.43/MWh to €65.00/MWh. Unlike in Germany, there were no negative prices, but there were no prices above €100.00/MWh either. The average price was correspondingly low and at €54.05/MWh was the lowest in any of the neighbouring countries this month. This is also reflected in the net imports from Norway totalling 470.0 GWh.

The low Norwegian prices are related to the high share of total electricity generation accounted for by renewables, and in particular hydropower, in Norway.