Danish electricity prices spiked sharply on Thursday evening, with the pure power price reaching 3.5 kroner per kilowatt-hour at 7 p.m. in both eastern and western Denmark.
The spike was reported by DR, which cited a press release from the energy company Norlys on September 10. Andel Energi confirmed to DR that it was looking at the same price level.
According to Norlys, the price remained high between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., at around 3.2 kroner per kilowatt-hour. After that, DR reported, it fell back to a more normal level. Ekstra Bladet carried the same Norlys figures.
Wind, evening demand and gas
Ellen Trolle, energy director at Norlys, described it as a very pronounced evening peak. Per Trolle, output from wind turbines was very limited at the same time as consumption topped out, when people came home to cook and do laundry.
Trolle added that when the wind does not blow and the sun is gone, the Danish system depends on gas-fired power plants. The price of natural gas is currently at a historically high level, which she linked to the tense situation around the Hormuz Strait.
DR noted that prices at this level had not been seen for several months. The last time the pure electricity price was that high was in June 2026, when it came close to four kroner per kilowatt-hour.
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September running above August
The average price for Thursday was just over 1.4 kroner per kilowatt-hour, according to DR. For September as a whole, the average so far was just under one krone per kilowatt-hour.
DR also reported that the September average is running above August, which ended as the most expensive month since December 2022. Trolle said the same factors that pushed August prices up continue to shape the market, with the gas price in particular still climbing. She noted that there are also a number of hours with considerably cheaper prices.
The evening spike comes as other energy costs in Denmark have risen. DR has reported that the gas price is at a level not seen since the start of 2023, a development that now also reaches ordinary power consumers without a gas boiler. According to DR, gasoline prices hit their highest level in four years last week.
Norlys said prices like Thursday evening’s are seen less often, but can also be a sign that the coming winter may be expensive. The company pointed to the gas market as the main driver behind that outlook. Earlier this year, Danish electricity prices also reached a four-year summer high.
Norlys and Andel Energi are two of the largest electricity suppliers on the Danish market. Both publish hourly prices for East and West Denmark, the country’s two price zones.
