Back to Blog

After a late spring thaw, expect a jump in Swedish inflows and run-of-river production

Eylert Ellefsen
Archived blog post. This blog post has been transferred from our previous blogging platform. Links and images may not work as intended.

Some key observations:                              

  • SE1 inflows will hit a new maximum from June 15th as the snow level in the northernmost area is still well above normal.
  • Inflows in SE2 are culminating this week as the snow level declines.  
Inflow statistics SE1 (normal: 2000-2020)
Inflow statistics SE2 (normal: 2000-2020)

The delayed spring thaw and inflow means that the normal increase in run-river production (ROR) during the melting period has been delayed, too.

New run-of-river models:

EQ has recently developed run-river production models for all main rivers in Sweden (with SE1 and SE2 having the highest relevance).

The following charts from our online service show the development for ROR-production thisyear compared to average, 95%- and 5%-tile for the period 2000-2020:

Weekly run-of-river production SE1
Weekly run-of-river production SE2

We observe the very delayed increase for SE1, and the increasing trend for SE2.

EQ expects run-river production will increase the next few weeks before culminating in the latter part of June.

The short-term (buffer) reservoirs in SE1 and SE2 are excepted to reach their summer-levels in a week or two.

Conclusions:

  • From the end of June, the run-river production will be more exposed to the precipitation situation as the melting period comes to an end.
  • Pricewise, this means the downward pressure on spot prices from the Swedish hydropower system will continue until the end of June.

More from the Blog

Will the Norwegian hydro reservoirs normalize in 2021?

Eylert Ellefsen
Eylert Ellefsen

The Nordic hydropower situation has been extreme this year. Norway has seen the highest inflow and reservoir levels in a 30-year perspective. By New Year's Day we will see about 13 TWh higher reservoir filling than normal in Norway, and snow/groundwater about 1-2 TWh above normal. We have studied the hydropower situation for 2021 and made some production strategy scenarios and focused on the according export-profiles.

Read Story

Impact of German coal closure from January 2021

Eylert Ellefsen
Eylert Ellefsen

From 1 January 2021, we will see a closure of 4.8 GW hard coal (8 units), 0.3 GW lignite (Niederaussem D). By the end of 2021, 50% of the remaining nuclear capacity of 8.1 GW will close (Brockdorf, Grohnde, Gundremmingen C).

Read Story

The rise and fall of Alpine hydrological balance

Eylert Ellefsen
Eylert Ellefsen

Precipitation levels have fluctuated massively across the Alps this autumn, as a dry November followed a very wet October. In this blog post, you will see how these two months compared to the climate years of 1980-2019 (40 years).

Read Story

Ready to try Energy Quantified?

No payment or credit card required.
Would you rather like a personal demo? Book a demo