Plugged In: the energy news podcast A Nordic balancing act
Sep 5, 2025
Kia Marie Jerichau, Vice President at Energinet, Matthew Creese, Head of Market Operations for Wind and Solar at Aneo, and Priyanka Shinde, Nordic Market Expert at Montel Analytics, dive into the chaos of the Nordic energy markets post-March 2025 price crash. They discuss volatile balancing markets and the struggle of small producers navigating complex systems. The challenges of algorithmic trading, rapid market changes, and the need for better regulation and adaptability are key themes. A real eye-opener for anyone interested in renewable energy dynamics!
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March Crash Sparked Long Volatility
- The March crash to -€10,000/MWh triggered prolonged volatility across Nordic balancing markets.
- Several countries introduced national fixes which reduced extreme technical-floor events but left high volatility overall.
A Cocktail Of Reforms Increased Complexity
- The volatility stems from multiple concurrent reforms: algorithmic activation, 15-minute settlements, and flow-based coupling.
- Those interacting changes amplified complexity and made market outcomes harder to predict.
Algorithms Replaced Human Judgment
- Algorithmic MFRR activation replaced human discretion, producing faster but less predictable dispatch.
- Traders and smaller producers struggle because algorithms react to more inputs and can produce counterintuitive outcomes.