Learn why a rare wind phenomenon will pay Belgians to use electricity this New Year's Eve;
✔ Negative power prices due to strong westerly wind on New Year's Eve 2024.
✔ Wind turbines in the North Sea to generate surplus electricity on public holidays.
✔ Belgians get paid to use power between 23:00 and 00:00 on New Year's Eve.
Belgians benefit from free electricity at the end of the year
Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
Belgians will be able to enjoy negative power prices in the last hour of 2024 thanks to a brisk westerly wind, Belga News Agency reports.
In November and December, periods of dunkelflaute – when there is hardly any wind and sun and therefore little electricity is generated by wind turbines and solar panels – pushed electricity prices to their highest level in a year and a half. But in the last hour of the year, prices are dropping below zero.
To get power in Belgium on Tuesday, an average of €66.83 for a megawatt-hour must be paid on the wholesale market. But between 23:00 and 00:00, the price will turn negative: €-1.26 for a megawatt-hour. Customers then get paid to use power.
Postdoctoral researcher in electrical energy at the University of Ghent, Joannes Laveyne, pointed to the strong westerly wind that will pick up on New Year's Eve. This means that wind turbines in the North Sea will produce a great deal of power.
Moreover, there is traditionally less demand for electricity on public holidays as many companies are closed.
For residential customers, this makes little difference, except for households with dynamic electricity contracts. With these, the price per hour is determined on the basis of prices on the power exchanges. Only 0.2% of Flemish households had such a contract in the last three months of the year.
