Divergence

How far apart do neighbouring bidding zones drift — and why? Prices decouple when the wires between zones fill up: an interconnector at its limit can't arbitrage the gap away.

Neighbouring bidding zones share a price until the grid between them fills up. Over the 12 months to 14 August 2026, the average gap between the German and French day-ahead price ran to about €31/MWh, the cross-border flow explaining most of it.

Average monthly day-ahead price by zone
DE-LU minus FR price spread by month
Positive = Germany more expensive than France (typically the nuclear-vs-renewables gap). Source: ENTSO-E.
Physical flow vs price gap — DE-LU border
Net flow (MW, + = DE-LU exporting) DE-LU − neighbour price (€/MWh) Congested months
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