CEE POWER-Czech and Slovak markets diverge on capacity cuts

* Slovak offpeak surprises, tops peak price
* Czech Cal '13 falls 10 cents to 47.60 euros per megawatt
hour
* Day ahead surges in Hungary, dips in Poland

PRAGUE, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Czech and Slovak power prices
drifted apart on Thursday as the normally coupled markets split
due to restrictions on cross-border supply that will limit flows
to Slovakia, traders said.
Electricity for Friday fell to 45.69 euros ($56.46)per
megawatt hour on market operator OTE's daily auction where the
Slovak price soared 26 percent to 58.10 euros due to the limited
supply.
Earlier on Friday, the Czech grid operator CEPS said it
would cut cross-border capacity to Slovakia to 0 MW between 0600
GMT and 2000 GMT on Friday as transmission lines undergo
maintenance.
Slovak offpeak power traded at 64.61 euros, going far higher
than peak and baseload prices as electricity cost up to 175
euros per megawatt hour in hours 21, 22 and 23.
"Nobody can figure out why offpeak is so high," one trader
said.
Further along the curve, the front month ticked 10 cents
higher to 44.80 euros while Cal '13 baseload fell 10 cents to
47.60 euros on the Prague-based Power Exchange Central Europe.
Around the region, the benchmark German Cal '13 contract was
steady at 49.05 euros in afternoon trade on Germany's EEX
exchange.
The Germany-based Central Allocation Office GmbH (CAO)
published results on Thursday of its monthly capacity auction to
transmit electricity across borders in the CEE region in
September with the price to ship power from Austria to Hungary
coming in at 12.16 euros per megawatt hour.
In Serbia, grid operator Elektromreza Srbije (EMS) on
Thursday announced the remaining cross-border capacity available
for allocation in September.
Day ahead on Hungary's HUPX surged to 73.94 euros from 61.86
euros while electricity for Friday dipped to 178.39 zlotys
($54.13)from 179.86 zlotys on Poland's POLPX.
Brent and U.S. crude futures held gains on Thursday in
choppy trading after separate reports showed the U.S trade
deficit narrowed in June and initial jobless claims fell last
week in the United States.
EUAs for December delivery, the bellwether carbon contract,
had fallen 2.5 percent to 7.06 euros a tonne at 1258 GMT.
($1 = 0.8093 euros)
($1 = 3.2954 Polish zlotys)

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by William Hardy)