Effects of negative spot market prices on electricity distribution network loading, experiences from the Finnish distribution system

On November 24th, an extreme case occurred in the Nordic electricity market, especially in the Finnish market area, when spot prices for half a day reached values of -500 €/MWh. This meant that even with distribution fees and taxes added to the spot price, end-users were still paid over 0.4 €/kWh for electrical energy use, providing a high incentive for electricity end-users to consume electricity. Statistics show that consumption increased considerably as the spot prices declined. The main increase in consumption was in the households having spot-price-based electricity retail contracts that provided a direct incentive to increase electricity consumption. Because of increased loads, a considerable number of load points’ fuses melted and even some network fuses melted.