German Watchdogs Find No Sign of Power-Price Spike Market Abuse

Germany’s grid regulator and antitrust office have found no evidence of market abuse in connection with power price spikes last winter — when there were capacity curbs — though some investigations are ongoing.

The Federal Network Agency and Federal Cartel Office investigated prices that at one point exceeded €1,000 ($1,162) a megawatt-hour last year during so-called Dunkelflaute conditions — bouts of low wind and solar output — when a substantial amount of gas and coal generation was offline.

The high prices prompted numerous industrial firms to curb electricity consumption. While price spikes occur regularly in Germany during periods of tight ...