Scorching heat is boosting electricity prices across Europe, adding to a long list of factors that have sent power costs surging this summer. The extreme temperatures are boosting demand for cooling at a time consumption was already rising as the world emerges from the global pandemic. Spanish day-ahead power surged to a record, while prices in the U.K. climbed for a fifth day, the longest rising streak in more than a month, and German next-day rates were double the five-year seasonal average. Power prices in Europe were already high as demand returned to pre-pandemic levels at a time generating electricity has become more expensive. The cost of natural gas and coal — used to make power — have jumped this year and supplies from renewable sources such as wind have declined. “Increased demand for cooling is pushing up prices in a large part of Europe,” said Hans van Cleef, […]