How the System Works (Full Breakdown)

What this market is

The European electricity market (EPEX Spot / Apex and similar). Traders deal in hourly and 15-minute contracts for electricity delivery in a specific time interval.

This is a full exchange market with an order book: buyers, sellers, limit orders, spreads.

Volatility is extreme: the price of the same product can move from €5 to €200 and back to €50 within minutes. For comparison, a 10–20% daily move in crypto is considered strong.

Who plays

1. Producers (thermal plants, solar, wind, hydro) — forced to sell what they generate.
2. Large industrial consumers — forced to buy according to their demand.
3. Prop firms and algorithmic players — produce nothing and consume nothing. They provide liquidity, do market-making, and trade volatility and spreads.

A prop trader needs neither power plants nor batteries nor large personal capital. You trade the company’s money, open long/short positions, and close before delivery.

The main edge — negative prices

When there is too much sun or wind, producers cannot simply “turn off” generation. They are willing to pay someone to take the electricity.

In the order book you can see quotes such as:

• someone buying at –€1,200
• someone selling at –€900

This is not an anomaly — it is a regular occurrence. This is where opportunities appear for those who can react quickly.

How the process actually works

• You see the order book on screen (professionals often run 12–14 monitors).
• The exchange handles all back-office.
• If you are pure prop, you trade purely financially and close before delivery.