FCR-D Up clearing prices hit €18.4/MW in yesterday’s Swissgrid auction — up 34% from last week’s €13.7/MW. The driver is straightforward: the cold snap across Central Europe is pushing heating demand higher, tightening the grid balance, and increasing frequency deviation events.
For battery operators, this is the kind of week that makes quarterly revenue targets. The question is whether to lock in FCR capacity for the full week or preserve optionality for the day-ahead market, where evening peak prices are also elevated.
Our positioning: 60% FCR commitment, 40% reserved for spot arbitrage. The cold snap is forecast to persist through 12 February, which means FCR prices should remain elevated. But the real upside comes from the intraday volatility that weather uncertainty creates.
Watch the 48-hour weather forecast. That’s your leading indicator.