2025 Monitoring Report
This ACER Monitoring Report on key developments in EU energy markets highlights major trends in 2024, focusing on the interaction between gas and electricity. It sets out ACER’s recommendations on how Europe can unlock a clean, secure and competitive energy future.
What trends did ACER monitoring find?
The report highlights progress towards Europe’s transition to clean energy, persistent challenges such as high and volatile energy prices for European consumers and businesses and how to address them.
2024 recorded the lowest energy prices since 2021, but with noticeable regional and seasonal differences. Gas prices averaged 34 €/MWh and electricity averaged 81 €/MWh. The surge in negative and very low prices in 2023 intensified in 2024.
Energy market prices remained volatile (but less extreme than during the crisis), driven by gas supply risks and renewables’ variability. Frequent swings in electricity prices (within a day) persist - on 70% of days, electricity price variations within the day reached 50€ or higher. Electricity price swings reveal a need for more short-term flexibility.
Renewables grew significantly, accounting for 35% of power generation. Solar power confirmed its leading role in the energy transition whilst nuclear and hydro came back.
Europe’s clean energy transition faces persistent challenges. By late 2024, adverse weather conditions and a deteriorating gas supply outlook exposed persistent market vulnerabilities. On 12 December 2024, a ‘dunkelflaute’ (exceptionally low renewable generation) episode in Germany pushed day-ahead and intraday power prices close to 1,000 EUR/MWh (far above the annual average of 81 EUR/MWh).
Gas as a flexibility provider: Fossil fuels, particularly gas and coal, remain essential to mitigate peak electricity demand as coal generation capacity declines and alternative solutions lag.
What are ACER’s recommendations?
For decarbonisation and global competitiveness, Europe must place renewed effort on further expanding EU energy market integration:
- Target new transition cost drivers: Network costs are at risk of doubling by 2050. Enhancing grid capacity (rather than new build) is part of the solution. Better network tariffs and "efficiency first" incentives to prevent stranded assets are part of the solution. Ensure capacity, flexibility, and renewables remain affordable while securing long-term supply.
- Harness energy efficiency and flexibility: Use demand response, Electric Vehicles (EVs) and batteries to balance supply and demand, cut price swings, and strengthen grid resilience, especially at peak times.
- Expand energy market integration: Support cross-border renewable use for flexibility and security. Strengthen interconnections to cut fossil fuel reliance and build trust in Europe’s energy markets.
Highlights
Report
ACER’s Monitoring Report on key developments in EU electricity and gas markets:
Highlights progress towards Europe’s transition to clean energy and persistent challenges.
Addresses how to unlock a secure, competitive and clean energy future.
Dashboard
This dashboard provides an overview of electricity market indicators across the EU, including:
prices;
volumes; and
churn factors.
Additional information
- Access the underlying datasets.