Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemicals and metals information provider, today announces the launch of 12 new price assessments aimed at bringing greater transparency to pricing in Italy’s electric power sector, where over-the-counter (OTC) electricity markets have become more liquid.
“Trading activity has increased significantly in these markets. With forward-dated transactions practically doubling in the last year, the industry has been clamoring for more and faster information,” said Sarah Cottle, Editorial Director of Platts EMEA/Asia Power group. “Our new Italian baseload power assessments will not only provide Italy with an independent source of daily market values, but they’ll give Europe at large another baseline for price comparison.”
The price references include the following:
• Four daily Platts Italian Baseload Power Assessments – Expressed in euro per megawatt hour (MWh), these forward curve assessments reflect the value of baseload electricity supplied to Italy’s power grid for forward-dated delivery: month-ahead, quarter-ahead, second quarter-ahead and year-ahead.
• Four daily Platts Italian Spark Spread Assessments – The spark spread assessments indicate the profitability of operating gas-fired power plants versus coal-fired plants. They reflect the average price difference between the cost of gas and the equivalent price of electricity on any given day. The spreads are based on month-ahead and quarter-ahead Italian baseload power and Italian Punto di Scambio Virtuale (PSV) gas price assessments, with plant efficiency ratings of 50% and 60%.
• Four daily Platts Italian Clean Spark Spread Assessments – The clean spark spreads represent the profit margins available to power generators after the costs of natural gas and associated carbon allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) are taken into account. The EU ETS is a cap-and-trade program aimed at reducing pollution from carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting installations.
In its electric power assessments, Platts employs a market-on-close time stamping methodology, which allows for cross commodity comparisons and facilitates the commonly used mark-to-market accounting practices. For greater detail on the calculations for the Platts Italian Spark Spread Assessments and Platts Italian Clean Spark Spread Assessments, see the methodology and specification guidelines.
The new Italian power price assessments are now available in Platts European Power Daily, the real-time news service Platts European Power Alert and in Platts Market Data-Electric Power.
Additional information about Platts, coal, natural gas, and electricity, can be found at the Platts website www.platts.com. Platts publishes more than 12,000 price assessments, indexes and references in energy, petrochemicals and metals on a daily basis.
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Platts Launches Full Suite Of Price References For Italy’s Power Sector - Includes Forward Curves Pricing For Baseload, Spark And Clean Spark Spreads
Date 10/09/2012