Coal to gas fuel switching back in the spotlight in European energy markets

The first half of 2023 saw a revival in coal to gas fuel switching incentives. However, the forward curve implies these renewed incentives will not be maintained. Average efficiency coal plants (39%) are expected to run ahead of average efficiency gas plants (50%) during winter 2023/24. As a result, utilities will likely continue to build-up their winter EUA hedge book during H2 2023 based on the more favourable economics of coal-fired generation in the mid-term. This report takes a deep-dive on what to expect for the European gas, power, and carbon markets in H2 2023. Source: ICIS Energy Analytics