PARIS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - European spot electricity prices

fell on Friday, helped by forecasts for lower consumption in

Germany and a sharp rise in German solar power production.

The German baseload contract for Monday delivery,

was down 2.5 euros at 45.75 euros ($61.04) per megawatt hour.

The equivalent French Monday contract lost 50 cents on the

day to 52 euros.

'The latest forecast signals that solar power production in

Germany could reach up to 16,000 MWh/h on Monday, which is a

massive 12,000 MWh/h higher than the maximum output expected for

today,' Thomson Reuters Point Carbon analysts said on Friday.

Temperatures in Germany were expected to remain slightly

higher on Monday compared with Friday's levels, just above

freezing levels, with power demand set to drop by 630 MW in the

meantime, according to Point Carbon data.

Temperatures in France were expected to drop slightly

however, containing the decline in the French spot contract.

French nuclear power availability was expected to remain at

around 91 percent for the whole of next week, French grid RTE

data showed. was up 3 cents at 42.45 euros.

The equivalent French Calendar Year 2014 base contract shed

25 cents to 45.20 euros.

Brent crude eased below $118 per barrel on Friday and was

heading for its first weekly loss in five after disappointing

euro zone data revived concerns about the region.

($1 = 0.7495 euros)

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Erica Billingham)

((michel.rose@thomsonreuters.com)(+331 4949 5570)(Reuters

Messaging: michel.rose.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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SWITZERLAND: outages, reservoir levels

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