POWER MARKETS
WEST Over the course of the month so far, Day Ahead prices have averaged around $60/MWh and $51.50/MWh in SP15 and Mid-C, respectively. However, if Santa Ana winds blow through Southern California this weekend as projected, temperatures in the L.A. Basin may peak at 90 degrees and lift prices higher. In related news, the CPUC voted last week to increase the capacity of the Alison Canyon natural gas storage facility from 34 Bcf to 41 Bcf this winter. The increase in demand for gas needed to fill the facility to raise Day Ahead prices higher still over the balance of November and into December.
ERCOT Term prices have been mixed this week as rising gas prices in the front of the curve are juxtaposed against falling heat rates in the outer curve. Meanwhile, as more units have returned from seasonal maintenance and demand has decreased slightly from last week, real-time prices have retreated from the near-triple-digit highs of last week into the low-to-mid-$30s/MWh. Furthermore, the ORDC adder for the month is minimal.
EAST Both Day Ahead and Real Time prices have climbed since last week in all of the main hubs except ISO-NE’s Mass Hub, where Day Ahead has remained flat but Real Time has increased by approximately $5/MWh. In NYISO, Day Ahead is averaging about $61/MWh in both Hudson Valley and NYC while Real Time is roughly $3/MWh higher. In MISO, whereas the Day Ahead average is around $71/MWh in both Indy Hub and West Hub, the Real Time average is $0.50/MWh lower in the former but $4/MWh higher in the latter.