NORDIC POWER-Forward prices rise on drier forecast, Russia gas supply woes

June 23 (Reuters) - Nordic forward power prices jumped on Thursday amid escalating concerns over reduced gas supply from Russia to Europe, while forecasts for mostly drier weather in the hydro-power dependent region also bolstered rates.

* Nordic front-quarter baseload power contract rose 6 euros to 135.00 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) as of 11:48 GMT. Earlier, prices touched 136.50 euros/MWh, a six-month peak.

* The Nordic front-year contract gained 2.55 euros to 110.00 euros/MWh, having earlier hit 110.50 euros/MWh - an all-time peak, according to Refinitiv Eikon data available since 2015.

* "It's basically a lot of the same drivers that are driving the European markets, the general shortage of gas," said John Brottemsmo, senior analyst at Kinect Energy.

* For the Nordics a lot of the focus is also on how much precipitation is expected, and "that's not much, less than normal," Brottemsmo added.

* European power curve benchmarks set new records as Germany triggered the "alarm stage" of its emergency gas plan in response to falling Russian supplies.

* German baseload for 2023 delivery, Europe's benchmark contract, hit a contract high of 262 euros/MWh and was last up 16 euros at 260 euros/MWh.

* Carbon front-year allowances firmed 1.77 euro to 83.65 euros a tonne.

* Meanwhile, Nordic water reserves available 15 days ahead were seen at 6.9 terawatt hours (TWh) below normal, compared with 9.9 terawatt hours (TWh) below normal on Wednesday.

* Mostly dry and warm weather is expected in Finland and most of Sweden while western Norway will be more active with occasional rain, according to Georg Muller, a meteorologist at Refinitiv.

* The Nordic power price for next-day physical delivery , or system price, rose 7.36 euros to 128.06 euros/MWh at an auction on the Nord Pool exchange. (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)