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The considerable decrease in the price of fuel and emissions allowances was mirrored on the European electricity wholesale markets. In spot trading on the European Energy Exchange (EEX) in the first three months of 2009, base-load contracts traded at an average of € 47 per megawatt hour (MWh), while peak-load electricity contracts sold for an average of € 61 per MWh. They were thus 16 % and 15 % lower in price compared to the same period in 2008. Prices in German electricity forward trading slipped as well. Contracts for the coming calendar year (2010 forwards) sold for an average of € 49 per MWh for base-load power and € 72 per MWh for peak-load power. This represents a decline of 21 % and 17 % respectively for comparable contracts in the same period last year. By the end of February, the 2010 base-load forward price had fallen to € 43, its lowest level since the autumn of 2005, after which it showed strong signs of recovery.
We sell forward nearly all our in-house electricity generation output in order to reduce volume and price risks. Therefore, electricity prices witnessed in the period under review only had a minor impact on our income in the first quarter of 2009. What is much more decisive is the price at which we concluded contracts for delivery in 2009 in preceding years. In the 2007/2008 trading period, the 2009 base-load forward sold for an average of € 63 per MWh on the German market. The comparable figure for the 2008 forward was € 55. Therefore, forward sales for 2009 were 15 % more expensive than for 2008. The rise was due to the boom on commodity markets which persisted until the middle of last year.
The most recent decline in electricity wholesale prices was hardly felt in German sales to households and commercial operations. Electricity tariffs for this customer group were an average of 4 % to 5 % higher than in the first quarter of 2008. This is because most of the supply companies made early forward purchases to cover their need for electricity and their procurement costs were thus still affected by the rise in wholesale prices in preceding years. Escalator clauses in supply agreements with industrial enterprises mean prices closely track developments on the wholesale market. In consequence, prices in this customer segment have already decreased marginally.