Nordic Hydro Stocks Rise Picks Up

Nordic hydropower reserves increase picked up the pace last week (week 28) to be at 70.6% of capacity, or 89.69TWh. however, stocks narrowed their surplus the same week last year to the lowest since flipping from a deficit in week 18.

• Stocks increased by 1.6 points compared to a 1.2 gain the week prior. Stocks increased at a faster pace for the first time since week 25.
  
• Reservoir levels narrowed their surplus to the same week last year to just 1.5 points from 2.5 points in the previous week.
• And the deficit to the 19-year average widened to 3.6 points from a 3.1-point deficit in week 27.
• Finnish hydro stocks recorded the only week-on-week drop in the region for the third consecutive week, falling to 73.4% of capacity, but continued to remain up on the year.
• Norwegian and Swedish reserves climbed to 72% and 66.8%, respectively, from 70.1% and 65.2% in week 27.
• Looking ahead, the latest ECMWF forecast suggested precipitation in the Norway is expected to be below the 30-year norm of around 4mm over 18-20 July – which could place downward pressure on stocks. However, precipitation on 22 July is anticipated to reach as high as 14.4mm, ECMWF show.
• Nordic nuclear capacity was unchanged on the day at around 79% of capacity, with the 1.08GW Ringhals 3 and 990MW Forsmark 1 units still expected to return on 20 and 27 July, respectively – increasing baseload generation and reducing downward pressure on stocks.