UK Wholesale Energy, Gas, and Electricity Prices

Get the Latest UK Wholesale Energy Market Trends with Weekly Price Updates on Electricity, Gas, Coal, and Oil, Plus Key Cost Insights and Headlines.

Several factors influence the UK wholesale electricity prices including the intermittent nature of renewable energy, fuel costs, geopolitical events, weather conditions and supply and demand.

Staying informed about the latest trends in wholesale electricity and gas prices is crucial for organisations looking to optimise their energy procurement and energy risk management.

The TEAM energy wholesale gas and wholesale electricity price review is published weekly and includes:

Headline summary of the weeks wholesale gas and wholesale electricity price an overview of the latest price movements and factors influencing these changes	Brent crude oil prices
Wholesale Electricity Price UK	Coal prices
Baseload wholesale electricity prices	EUA Carbon prices
Peak wholesale electricity prices	UKA Carbon prices
Commodity Price Movements	Wholesale Gas Price and Wholesale Gas Price Snapshot.

UK Wholesale Gas & Electricity Prices – 26 May 2026

Headlines – UK Wholesale Gas Prices and Wholesale Electricity Prices

Day-ahead gas fell 7.6% to 117.00p/th, following strong fluctuations across the week, rising to 130.10p/th on 19 May, the highest level seen since the end of March, before ending the week at a three-week low of 117.00p/th on 22 May. The two-month price high earlier in the week was the result of disruptions to major LNG production facilities including Freeport in the US, and strike action across Australian LNG terminals. Similarly, concerns of renewed military action in the Middle East at the start of the week kept the risk premium heightened. Day-ahead power fell 8.4% to £106.3/MWh, amid a strong rise in solar generation, linked to heatwave conditions. Additionally, wind generation remained stable across the reporting period, further easing system margins. On 25 May, GB recorded its lowest transmission demand at 12.6GW between 13:00-13:30, with high solar outturn and low bank holiday demand all contributing to the record low. June 26 gas was down 5.5% at 117.13p/th, and July 26 gas decreased 5.2% at 116.55p/th. Most seasonal gas contracts declined last week, down by 2.0% on average, while both winter 26 and summer 27 gas dropped 3.1% and 2.7% respectively, subsiding to 119.43p/th and 85.65p/th. Most seasonal power contracts rose last week, up on average by 0.5%, as winter 26 power expanded 0.9% to £101.70/MWh, while summer 27 fell 0.9% to £74.80/MWh.

Baseload wholesale electricity price

Forward curve comparison

Q326 power moved 2.5% lower to £99.00/MWh.
The annual October 26 contract rose 0.1% to £88.25/MWh, 19.9% higher than the same time last year (£73.63/MWh).

Annual October contract

Q326 power moved 11.5% higher to £101.50/MWh.
The annual October 26 contract rose 4.1% to £88.13/MWh, which was 13.5% higher than the same time last month (£77.63/MWh), and 22.8% higher than the same time last year (£71.78/MWh).

Peak wholesale electricity price

Forward curve comparison

Day-ahead peak power was up 0.9% to £109.00/MWh, in opposition to its baseload counterpart.
June 26 peak power declined 3.9% at £98.00/MWh, and July 26 peak power decreased 1.0% to £100.00/MWh.

Annual October contract

The annual October 26 peak power rose 0.6% to £96.29/MWh
This is 0.3% higher than the same time last year (£96.00/MWh).

Seasonal power prices

Seasonal baseload power contracts

Most seasonal power contracts saw gains last week, up on average by 0.5%.
Winter 26 power expanded 0.9% to £101.70/MWh, while summer 27 fell 0.9% to £74.80/MWh.

Seasonal peak power curve

Most seasonal peak power contracts declined last week, down 0.6% on average.
Winter 26 and summer 27 peak power dropped 0.7% and 1.3% respectively, falling to £118.88/MWh and £76.00/MWh.

Commodity price movements

Oil and coal

Last week continued bullish movements in the market, with Brent crude oil rising 1.2% to $107.44/bl.
Oil prices declined after President Donald Trump announced that he postponed a military strike against Iran on 19 May after direct appeals from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, a 30-day extension of the sanction’s waiver allowing countries facing energy shortages due to the Iran conflict to purchase Russian oil was announced on the same day by the US Treasury Secretary.
However, higher prices were supported by US Energy Information Administration data outlining commercial crude oil inventories fell by about 7.9 million barrels last week to 445 million barrels, significantly exceeding market expectations for a decline of around 2.5 million barrels.
Following the US strikes on Iran on 26 May, the potential for retaliation from Iran and an escalation to the conflict will likely keep prices elevated in the week ahead.

Carbon (UK and EU ETS)

Across the week, both EU and UK ETS carbon prices saw minor losses, UK ETS prices decreased by 0.1% to average £51.84/t and EU ETS edged 0.2% lower to €75.67/t.
Market participants remained cautious, with limited risk appetite and weak responses from typical market drivers.
Ongoing discussions on the Middle East ceasefire, uncertainty on wider energy markets across Europe, and the upcoming ETS review all act to keep carbon prices trading in a limited and narrow range, resulting in a less attractive market for traders currently.
On the bearish side, strong solar and wind generation across Europe acted to dampen the residual load across Europe, limiting demand for fuelled generation, a typically more carbon-intensive source of generation, resulting in lower prices.
Ongoing uncertainty around US and Iranian relations continues to support volatility in the carbon markets, as the balance between potential diplomatic progress and escalation drives conflicting expectations for energy demand and industrial activity.

Wholesale price snapshot – Friday-on-Friday

		Gas (p/th)		Electricity (£/MWh)		Coal ($/t)	EUA carbon (€/t)	UKA carbon (E/t)	Brent Crude ($/bl)
		Day-ahead	Year-ahead	Day-ahead	Year-ahead
Last Week	22 May 26	117.00	126.68	106.30	88.25	126.45	76.90	53.78	103.48
Two weeks ago	8 May 26	126.68	10+.64	116.00	88.13	115.90	74.88	50.22	105.67
Four weeks ago	17 Apr 26	111.45/td>	100.65	106.00	85.90	103.50	74.88/td>	50.52	105.68
Last year	23 May 25	87.71	81.78	68.56	73.63	98.70	71.65	51.63	64.75
Year-on-year% change		33.4%	25.4%	55.0%	19.9%	28.1%	7.3%	4.2%	59.8%
12-month high		160.00	128.65	136.00	97.67	137.00	92.05	72.95	119.00
12-month low		66.90	63.35	18.03	68.48	89.70	63.60	34.75	58.80

Analysis provided by: Cornwall Insight

UK Wholesale Energy Prices – 18 May 2026

Headlines – UK Wholesale Gas and Electricity Prices Latest news on UK wholesale energy market trends, with weekly, monthly, and yearly price updates on gas and electricity (day-ahead and year-ahead), coal, EUA carbon, UKA carbon, and Brent crude oil, plus key cost movements. Day-ahead gas rose 15.7% to 126.68p/th, owing...