Spain logged 596 hours of negative power prices in Q2, the most in Europe, Montel says
Victoria Shinder1 min readSpain and Portugal had the most hours with negative electricity prices in Europe in the second quarter of 2026, according to Montel's European Power Market Outlook Q3 2026, reported by pv magazine on 6 October.
The counts. Spain recorded 596 hours of negative prices, Portugal 462, France 370 and Greece 317. Nordic markets had fewer. The report puts the differences down to how fast solar capacity has grown and how demand is shaped in each country.
Why. European solar generation exceeded its previous record by nearly 20% in the quarter, helped by long periods of high pressure and sunshine. That produced recurring midday surpluses and record negative intraday prices in several markets. In late April prices in some markets approached the technical floor of minus €500/MWh, which was then lowered to minus €600/MWh.
The other side of the same quarter. In a late-June heatwave, Spanish daily and weekly prices repeatedly went above €100/MWh, and German prices passed €600/MWh in evening peaks. Montel says the swings exposed how little flexibility European markets have.
A shift in behaviour. Faced with recurring negative prices, some flexible thermal plants, storage operators and industrial consumers stopped bidding at negative prices in day-ahead auctions and kept their capacity for intraday or balancing markets. Montel says that could move more balancing into intraday trading, raising volatility there and the value of assets that can respond quickly.
The report lists grid reinforcement, more granular bidding zones and faster curtailment and redispatch as the main fixes for cross-border flows and local congestion.