Spanish Market Analysis
Analysis of the Spanish energy market is key to understanding the dynamics and trends affecting the sector both locally and internationally. In this detailed analysis, we address the important factors influencing energy prices, supply and demand, and the latest regulatory policies. This comprehensive overview will allow you to keep up to date with weekly changes and anticipate possible market variations, both in Spain and in other relevant markets such as France.
April 2026
Table of Contents
Key figures of the month
Source: Haya Energy Solutions
In April 2026, electricity spot prices across the main European markets declined compared with the previous month, with Spain as the only exception, posting a slightly higher average price. In the forward market, however, Power Cal’27 remained broadly stable across all countries, with price levels staying within a relatively similar range to those seen in March.
France overtook Spain as the lowest-priced power market in the region, averaging 40.80 €/MWh, a sharp decrease from 63.30 €/MWh in the previous month. Spain ranked as the second-lowest market, with an average of 42.40 €/MWh, slightly above the 40.27 €/MWh recorded in March. The UK and Germany both moved close to the 83 €/MWh level. Overall, April once again highlighted a wide divergence in spot prices across Europe, largely reflecting each market’s generation structure and, in particular, its level of exposure to gas-fired technologies as the marginal price-setting source, as is reflected in Italy.
April was also a record month for solar PV generation across the main European markets. New all-time daily highs for April were reached in France (149 GWh), Germany (444 GWh) and Italy (163 GWh). This strong solar output throughout the month meant that, on days combining high renewable generation with the typically lower electricity demand seen over weekends, extremely negative prices were recorded. This was particularly evident on Sunday, 26 April, when the French spot price fell to -478.80 €/MWh at 14:00, setting a new record.
On the gas side, average spot prices were broadly stable around the 44 €/MWh mark across most markets, with Germany standing slightly higher at around 46 €/MWh on average. Compared with March, gas prices declined across all countries, falling by around 8 €/MWh in most markets. Gas Cal’27 also showed a moderate month-on-month decrease across all countries.
Gas price formation during the month remained largely driven by the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, and, in particular, by developments affecting the transit of energy commodities through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, any headline ranging from a potential ceasefire announcement to the breakdown of negotiations had a direct impact on gas prices.
As for CO₂, prices increased from around 72 €/t in March to 77 €/t in April, breaking the downward trend that had started with the escalation of the conflict in Iran at the end of February.
Overall, stronger renewable generation and lower gas prices helped ease electricity market prices across most European markets, despite the rebound in CO₂ prices.
Energy demand and generation mix
Source: Haya Energy Solutions
Spanish electricity demand reached 18,561 GWh, while total generation stood at 20,279 GWh. Of this volume, around 1,718 GWh was scheduled for export.
Compared with March 2026, both electricity demand and generation declined. Year on year, demand and generation in April 2026 remained broadly in line with the levels recorded in April 2025.
Renewables represented 59.8% of Spain’s generation mix in April 2026, down from 64.4% in April 2025 and also below March 2026 (62.7%). This reflects lower renewable output over the past year, mainly driven by weaker wind and hydro generation, as weather conditions during the month were less supportive for these technologies, with limited storm activity across the Iberian Peninsula.
Solar PV overtook wind as the leading generation source, accounting for 25.0% of total output. This was above both March 2026 (17.7%) and the 20.2% recorded in April 2025.
Nuclear ranked second, reaching 19.1% of total generation. The main developments for this technology during the month were the maintenance outage at Cofrentes, which started on the last day of April and is expected to last 21 days, the pre-alert notification issued on 22 April following a fire in an extraction unit at Vandellós II, with no impact on nuclear safety, and the completion of the 38th refuelling outage at Trillo on 18 April, marking the start of a new operating cycle.
Wind ranked third, contributing 18.0% of total generation, below both March 2026 (23.0%) and April 2025 (21.5%).
Source: Haya Energy Solutions
Energy prices & market panorama
Source: Haya Energy Solutions
Spain’s average wholesale electricity price stood at 42.44 €/MWh, broadly in line with the 40.66 €/MWh recorded in March. The most notable feature of the month from a pricing perspective was the repeated daily pattern whereby electricity prices fell to near-zero, or even negative levels, during hours of strong solar generation, before rising sharply once solar output faded.
Looking at the daily average price profile, the lowest price levels were typically recorded on low-demand days such as weekends, while on higher-demand days prices tended to rise more sharply whenever renewable output lost relative weight in the generation mix. Even so, unlike in March, the market did not record any negative daily average prices, and overall daily price dispersion was lower than in the previous month.
Spanish market has a high level of renewable energy penetration, especially from solar photovoltaic (PV) sources, which have been strongly influencing price reductions during the central hours of the day. However, as solar generation decreases in the evening, the energy system increasingly relies on other technologies to meet demand, such as gas-fired plants like combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs). This reliance can lead to sharp price increases in a short period. As a result, April demonstrated a consistent pattern of very low prices during solar production hours and greater price pressures during non-solar hours. This was particularly evident when wind and hydro generation were insufficient to compensate for the decline in PV output.
In terms of adjustment service costs, the price component within the wholesale market in Spain has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the year, displaying a W-shaped trend that peaks mainly during the spring season. This pattern is likely due to the higher penetration of renewables during this time, the need for a stable grid frequency and thus the increased need for grid-energy modulation.
Source: Red Eléctrica
Average natural gas price in the Spanish market stood at 44.35 €/MWh, down from 51.92 €/MWh in March. This decline was mainly linked to an easing of geopolitical tensions involving Israel, the United States and Iran.
At the beginning of the month, gas prices remained elevated due to supply risk concerns and low storage levels across Europe. However, during the week starting on 5 April, comments by Donald Trump suggesting a possible end to the conflict, followed by the ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran during the second week of the month, contributed to a temporary easing in prices.
Source: Haya Energy Solutions
This trend was interrupted by the failure of the peace negotiations and the blockade imposed by the United States on Iranian ports, which triggered a price spike around 12 April. After this peak, expectations of renewed peace talks led to a partial correction in gas prices. Nevertheless, during the fourth week of April, the US blockade on Iranian ports, together with Iran’s disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, exerted renewed upward pressure on prices, a dynamic that remained in place during the final week of the month.
Market trends and futures
Source: Haya Energy Solutions
Spanish electricity forward prices remained broadly stable during April 2026, following the sharp upward repricing seen in the previous month. The most notable moves were the almost 12% increase in the May 2026 contract and the 10% decline in June 2026. The remaining products stayed at levels broadly similar to those recorded in March.
In the gas market, month-on-month declines were visible across all the products under review, although the magnitude of the correction became smaller further along the curve. Forward gas prices for May 2026, June 2026, and even Q3 and Q4 2026 fell by more than 10% compared with the previous month. Even so, this downward move should be seen in the context of the exceptional repricing recorded in March, when some of these products had increased by more than 70% versus February. The lower price levels observed in Y+1 and, even more clearly, in Y+2 suggest that the market is still pricing in some degree of easing in the conflict over the medium to longer term.
Regarding storage levels, natural gas reserves in the European Union currently stand at 33% of capacity, an increase of around 5 percentage points compared with the previous month. This improvement in stored gas volumes suggests that the European Union is rebuilding inventories in order to reduce its exposure to potential price tensions ahead of next winter if market conditions do not improve. In Spain, gas reserves currently stand at 64%, well above the previous month and still around twice the EU average.
By contrast, CO₂ futures moved higher during the month. Carbon markets are currently stabilizing as policy uncertainty diminishes; however, the potential for growth remains constrained by persistent geopolitical tensions and elevated energy prices. While market fundamentals are supportive, the intensifying macroeconomic risks render EUA prices highly sensitive to any changes in the dynamics of the Middle East.
