London (Platts)--14Jul2005

The winter 05 UK power contract plummeted GBP12.00 Thursday, around 20%, from
the opening trade as gas prices crashed, traders said. Beginning at
GBP62.00/MWh, around GBP1.00 lower from Wednesday's close, the contract
plunged as low as GBP50.00/MWh, before trading last at GBP55.00/MWh. "We are
used to seeing GBP10.00 moves in a year, not in a day," said one trader. "You
can't call this market a real market at the moment.....there are going to be
some big losers out there. I've never seen anything like it." 

"It's totally unprecedented. The market was very long right across the
complex. It's going to be a question of who are the people who have been
stopped out today," said another source. Contracts fell sharply through the
curve. At the front, August fell as low as GBP39.00/MWh having begun the day
at GBP41.00/MWh, but was marked closer to GBP40.50/MWh at the time of writing.
In prompt markets, week-ahead eased lower, largely on the back of falling
emissions prices, traders said.

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