Gas and electricity markets in the EU in the second quarter of 2025 showed a further return to more stable and predictable levels, according to the latest quarterly reports on both markets. Wholesale gas prices experience a reversal and decline for the first time since early 2024, mainly due to a sharp increase in liquefied natural gas imports.

At the same time, solar power generation reaches record levels, while hydropower generation records a significant decline.

According to the Quaterly Report on European Electrcity Markets total electricity consumption in the EU amounted to 566 TWh in the second quarter of 2025,, remaining unchanged (+0%) compared with the reference period of the previous year. Consumption levels in the second quarter of 2025 remained below the average values observed in the pre-crisis period (2015–2019).

Electricity consumption in the EU increased in seventeen Member States. The highest growth was recorded in Austria (+9%), followed by Denmark (+7%) and Malta (+6%), while Luxembourg and Greece record a decline of 8% each.

More than 720,000 new electric vehicles (battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) were registered in the EU, representing an increase of 27% compared with the second quarter of 2024. This constitutes the highest quarterly total on record. Electric vehicles accounted for a 23% market share, which was lower than the market share recorded in China (57%) but more than twice the share observed in the United States (10%).

The highest share of new electric vehicle sales was recorded in Sweden, where 62% of all cars sold in the second quarter of 2025 were electric vehicles. Sweden, together with Denmark (60%), Finland (54%) and the Netherlands (52%), were among the markets where more than half of all passenger cars sold were battery electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Germany retained its position as the largest individual market in the EU, with more than 210,000 electric vehicle sales in the second quarter of 2025, followed by France, where sales amounted to more than 104,000 new electric vehicles during the reference quarter. Notably, in Norway, 98% of all cars sold were electric vehicles.

Spot prices for coal and gas declined in the second quarter of 2025, reversing the upward trend observed in the second half of 2024. In the second quarter of 2025, spot gas prices averaged EUR 35/MWh, which was 12% higher than in the second quarter of 2024, but 24% lower than in the first quarter of 2025.

TTF spot prices remained above TTF forward prices (for the following year) during most of the second quarter of 2025, indicating that markets expected prices to decline in the future. Average prices for the following year amounted to EUR 34/MWh in the second quarter of 2025, which was 5% lower than in the second quarter of 2024 and 10% lower than in the first quarter of 2025.

Coal prices followed an overall downward trend throughout the quarter.

In the second quarter of 2025, the total number of hours with negative prices across the observed markets reaches a new record of 4,407 hours, compared with 4,166 hours in the second quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 6%.

Whosale market

Average day-ahead prices in European markets were 6% higher than in the second quarter of 2024 and 29% lower than in the second quarter of 2023.

This slight increase in prices reflected a modest decline in low-carbon electricity generation, in particular from hydropower, compared with the previous year. However, prices did not rise significantly, as electricity generation from fossil fuels and the prices of those fuels increased only moderately.

The average wholesale electricity price in the EU in the second quarter of 2025 amounted to EUR 65/MWh. Prices ranged from EUR 28/MWh in Finland to EUR 105/MWh in Ireland.

On a year-on-year basis, changes in electricity prices across EU markets ranged from -30% to +23%. The largest declines are observed in Finland (-30%), Estonia (-20%), Lithuania (-19%) and Latvia (-18%). By contrast, the largest increases were recorded on the Iberian Peninsula, where Portugal (+23%) and Spain (+16%) saw higher gas-fired electricity generation. Belgium also recorded a price increase of 22%.

In the second quarter of 2025, average prices for electricity contracts one year, two years and three years ahead amounted to EUR 85/MWh, EUR 74/MWh and EUR 69/MWh, respectively. The weekly median premium between the one-year-ahead contract and the spot price averaged EUR 44/MWh in the second quarter of 2025.

Generation mix

Electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES) remained stable at 301 TWh (unchanged compared with the second quarter of 2024), accounting for 52% of the energy mix. This stabilisation in RES generation occured despite a significant increase in installed renewable capacity.

With regard to fossil fuels, generation from lignite (-13%) and hard coal (-9%) recorded a moderate decline, while electricity generation from gas (+12%) and oil (+14%) increased.

Nuclear power generation amounted to 133 TWh, representing a slight decline of 2% during this period of the year.

In the second quarter of 2025, generation from hydropower plants decreased significantly to 88 TWh (-17%). A slight decline was also observed in offshore wind generation (-6%). By contrast, solar power generation recorded strong growth of 20%, reaching 98 TWh. Onshore wind generation also performed positively, increasing by 3%. Total electricity generation from wind power amounted to 100 TWh.

The decline in hydropower generation mainly reflected a return to normal levels following an exceptionally strong year in 2024. The increase in solar power generation was driven by particularly high levels of solar irradiation for the season, combined with a substantial expansion of installed capacity compared with the previous year.

Wholesale electricity markets in selected major economies

In the second quarter of 2025, electricity prices showed notable heterogeneity across different markets in the United States and Japan.

In the United States, wholesale electricity prices on selected regional markets ranged from -13% (ERCOT) to +48% (CAISO) in the second quarter of 2025. The average price across these markets was 19% higher compared with the same period in 2024, representing a significantly larger increase than in the EU.

In Japan, electricity prices decreased by 2% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025. By contrast, prices in Korea rose by 2% during the same quarter.

Retail prices

Retail electricity prices increased slightly (+3%) in the second quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, despite a decrease in the energy component relative to the previous year. At the same time, while VAT declined, other energy taxes increased compared with last year, resulting in a one-percentage-point rise in the overall tax component. In addition, network costs also increased by two percentage points.
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