The first brokered UK dark spread has been traded through UK-based brokerage Spectron. The trade, between Sempra and Scottish Power was a summer 2006 deal, representing 5,000 tonnes of coal (API#2) versus 15 MW of electricity. Spectron said to its knowledge, this was the first brokered dark spread in Europe.

Dark spreads represent the generating margin of coal-fired power stations and are calculated from the difference between power prices and coal prices, adjusted for fuel efficiency. "An