Zero prices (overnight, weekend)
Research notes
Figures are for London unless they say otherwise.
What happened
- Sun 23 Jul: London reached 0p at 04:30; average 12.6p, peak 29.8p at 18:00; all 14 regions at 0p or below; lowest 0.0p in Eastern England.
Likely causes
- Sun 23 Jul, 04:30 (London's lowest half-hour): wind 12.5GW (57% of supply), solar 0GW, gas 3.8GW (17%), imports 0.5GW, total supply 22GW. Over the day wind averaged 11.5GW; the 2023 average was 9GW (29%). Source: NESO historic generation mix. (figures confirmed by source; link to prices is inference)
- The low came overnight on Sun 23 Jul, when demand is at its lowest (total supply as low as 22GW, against a 2023 average of 31.3GW). (inference)
- Sun 23 Jul was at the weekend, when demand is lower. (inference)
- Elexon market index: Sun 23 Jul averaged £22.23/MWh with a low of −£39.25 at 06:00. Source: Elexon market index, Sun 23 Jul. (confirmed by source; a short-term index, not the day-ahead auction Agile follows)
Wider context that week
- Nothing notable found for that week.
Confidence
Low. Neither the grid figures nor any report found clearly explain this date.
Gaps
- No news report or official write-up found that ties this date to a cause; the causes above are from the data.