Currently in the Netherlands you pay 27 euros for a megawatt-hour of gas with delivery over a month. That contract is considered the benchmark for the European gas price. And that price was still more than twice as high in early December. The spectacular drop in the gas price has several causes.
First, the increase in the share of renewable energy. Wind and sun now generate so much energy that much less electricity needs to be generated using gas-fired power plants. The weather is also cooperating. The winter so far has been very mild in Europe, which makes a big difference in natural gas consumption. ''The weather forecast mainly affects the price of gas in the short term,'' said Hans van Cleef, energy expert at Publieke Zaken, a consulting firm.
You can read the entire article on the AD here.
