Energy information provider Platts, part of the McGraw-Hill Companies, US, has launched two new daily price references. These are expected to help European power producers and risk managers assess their power generation profitability and compare the profitability of using coal versus natural gas as the feedstock for electricity production. The price references are based on the cost of power generation in Germany where utilities are equipped to use either coal or gas.
The daily forward curves for Platts German Dark Spreads and Platts German Clean Dark Spreads represent the unit profitability of German coal-fired power generation, without and with the costs associated with European Union carbon emissions certificates. ‘Dark’ refers to the fact that the fuel source is coal and ‘clean’ signifies that the cost of purchasing the EU’s carbon emissions allowances and certificates is included in the calculation.
The two sets of assessments are calculated from Platts’ power, coal and carbon emissions pricing data using established industry formulas and are quoted in both Euro and US Dollars per megawatt hour (Euro/MWh or Dollars/MWh, respectively). The forward values will be published daily on the real-time service Platts European Power Alert and in two Platts newsletters: Coal Trader International and European Power Daily.
Platts’ new forward curves are projected to allow power producers to run comparisons with their own data or with Platts’ Spark Spread calculations for gas-fired power generation as a means of gauging power production profitability margins between coal and natural gas.
Platts is a global provider of energy and commodities information. With a century of business experience, it serves the oil, natural gas, electricity, emissions, nuclear power, coal, petrochemicals, shipping and metals markets.
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