People in Germany are now being paid to consume electricity The price of power in Germany briefly dropped to minus 130 euros per MWh on 8 May

As reported in the Independent, electricity prices went negative in Germany for the first time on 8th May.
Why?

• They generate a lot of both wind and solar power
• Demand for electricity has not been managed to match intermittent renewable supply
• They would rather keep renewables running than switch them off, even if it is more expensive to do so.

What are the lessons for UK?

• Manage demand to more closely match the cost of intermittent supply
• Raise awareness of this issue with domestic consumers who have the power to manage their demand patterns far more than they currently do

The prize for doing this is huge - of the order of £50 billion if the alternative is Hinkley C type power stations.