Electricity and gas prices for 2027 rose significantly in July — most sharply in the upcoming winter quarters. The later delivery years, on the other hand, are valued significantly lower. For real estate portfolios, early, bundled procurement can therefore make sense.
Energy prices rose significantly in July, especially for short-term delivery periods. At the same time, the futures market is showing a significantly lower price level for 2028 and 2029. For property owners, asset managers, but also users with several locations, this raises a strategic question: Should part of the future electricity and gas demand be secured today?
For electricity, the price for the 2027 delivery year (base) was €104.24/MWh at the end of July. For 2028 it was €86.82/MWh and for 2029 €77.87/MWh. Electricity for 2029 was thus valued around a quarter lower than electricity for 2027. For gas (THE market area), the gap was even greater: €43.64/MWh for 2027 compared to €31.37/MWh for 2028 and €27.21/MWh for 2029.
"The energy market is currently showing a clear picture: short-term delivery periods are expensive, while electricity and gas are valued significantly lower in the medium term. For real estate portfolios, it can therefore make sense not only to look at the next expiring contract, but to check today whether parts of the later demand should be insured," says Prof. Dr. Gunnar Gombert, Managing Director and co-founder of NeoBid.
July shows how quickly procurement costs can change. Within four weeks, electricity for 2027 increased by around 12 percent, gas for 2027 by as much as 20 percent. The imminent winter quarters became even more expensive: electricity for the Q4 2026 quarter costs €139.46/MWh, the Q2 2027 summer quarter only €87.35/MWh — a difference of around 60 percent. In gas, Q4 2026 grew by 35.7 percent in July alone. The market reacted to high temperatures, limited French nuclear power capacity, low German gas storage levels and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, among other factors.
For larger real estate portfolios, such movements quickly become relevant: With an annual electricity demand of five million kilowatt hours, the price increase of the past four weeks alone for the 2027 delivery year corresponds to around 56,000 euros, compared to the price level twelve months ago, which is around 109,000 euros. The invoice refers exclusively to the wholesale price and does not include grid charges, levies, taxes or supplier margins.
However, the lower valuations for later delivery years are no guarantee that energy will continue to become cheaper in the future. However, they show that the market assesses current risks, especially in the short-term delivery periods. For real estate companies with predictable needs, it can therefore make sense to include the years 2028 and 2029 in their procurement strategy today.
Thomas Rübelmann, also managing director and co-founder, adds: "This does not mean fixing the entire demand today. Especially in the case of larger portfolios, procurement can also be spread over several points in time and delivery years. However, the prerequisite is that delivery points, consumption and contract terms are considered in bundles – and this is where it fails more often in the real estate industry than in the market."
Especially in the real estate industry, electricity and gas contracts are sometimes still considered on a property- or location-by-site basis. If delivery points, consumption quantities and contract terms are merged, the demand can be planned and tendered in a bundled manner across an entire real estate or user portfolio.
Bundling creates transparency about the total volume, facilitates the coordination of different contract endings and makes it possible to spread procurement quantities over several delivery years and purchasing dates. Especially in view of the significant price differences between 2027, 2028 and 2029, this portfolio perspective becomes more relevant.
ABOUT THE ENERGY MARKET REPORT
The NeoBid Energy Market Report classifies the development of electricity and gas specifically for real estate portfolios. This is based on EEX settlement prices, EPEX and THE data, gas storage data from AGSI and Trading Hub Europe, as well as data from the Federal Network Agency and NeoBid's own evaluations. The full Market Report July 2026 can be requested free of charge from NeoBid.
