01When does power move?

When power costs less than nothing

How often does the wholesale price of electricity fall below zero, and when does it happen?

Over the 12 months to 14 October 2026, German day-ahead electricity prices (the DE-LU bidding zone, which Germany shares with Luxembourg) fell below zero in 485 hours.

In those hours wind and solar produced more than demand could absorb, and producers paid to keep generating.

The trend is steep: 139 such hours in 2021, rising to 576 in 2025, a figure that reconciles with the count of Germany's grid regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), for the year.

The longest unbroken run below zero in those 12 months lasted 18 hours.

The multi-year rise

negative-price hours per calendar year

Negative hours have climbed as wind and solar have grown. Each bar is a full calendar year; the current year runs to date, so its bar is still growing. The lines are the solar and wind fleet at each year's end, in gigawatts. Use the selector below to zoom the day-by-day calendar into any year.

Hourly prices, grouped by calendar year in German time (CET/CEST). The current year runs to date. Source: ENTSO-E day-ahead prices.

A year of negative hours

hours per day, last 12 months

Each cell is one day; the colour shows how many hours cleared below zero (pale = none). Negative days cluster in sunny, windy stretches.

Negative hours/day

Counted on hourly prices, by calendar day in German time (CET/CEST), so the clock-change days have 23 or 25 hours. Source: ENTSO-E day-ahead prices.

How long do they last?

episode duration · last 12 months

A short dip passes quickly; a long one costs producers more. As midday solar grows, the negative spells stretch from an odd hour into long, continuous runs.

An episode is a run of consecutive negative hours, in German time (CET/CEST). Source: ENTSO-E day-ahead prices.

Which months go negative

negative hours per month

Negative prices are largely a spring-and-summer story: long days, strong sun, mild demand. Dark winter months barely register.

Counted on hourly prices, by month in German time (CET/CEST). Source: ENTSO-E day-ahead prices.

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Questions

How many hours of negative electricity prices did Germany have?

In calendar 2025, German day-ahead prices were below zero for 576 hours, a count that reconciles with Germany's grid regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA). Over the rolling 12 months to 14 October 2026 the figure was 485 hours.

What are negative electricity prices?

Hours when the wholesale day-ahead price falls below zero. Wind and solar produce more than demand can absorb, and producers pay to keep generating.

How these numbers are made: The canonical hourly grid, Negative hours and episodes.

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