French Power Operator Makes $60 Million Trading Error

By Bloomberg

Sep 11, 2022

image is BloomburgMedia_RI1T0SDWRGG201_12-09-2022_06-30-06_637985376000000000.jpg

A glowing neon hotel sign as apartment lights remain off in residential buildings at night in Paris, France, on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Although economic expansion in France beat expectations by a distance, the European energy crisis is pushing up the cost of electricity in the wholesale market for the whole of Europe, with French forward prices surging to almost 1,000% more than their decade-long average through 2020. Photographer: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- French power distributor Electricite de Strasbourg SA oversold large quantities of electricity due to trading errors earlier this week, a mistake that could cost the company 60 million euros ($60.3 million).

The utility’s ES Energies Strasbourg unit made quantity errors on transactions on Tuesday and Wednesday amounting to 2.03 gigawatts and 5.75 gigawatts of electricity, the company said in a statement.

In a second statement, Electricite de Strasbourg said that rebalancing and volume-adjustment operations carried out to make up for the overselling generated a cost estimated at 60 million euros.

The Financial Times reported on the trading mistake earlier on Sunday, saying that it prompted the French grid operator to send an emergency power alert to neighbors, including the UK and Spain, asking them to be ready to help with any shortfalls.

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By Gaspard Sebag