Wholesale power sales in Q3 2020 down 3% due largely to coronavirus pandemic

US wholesale power sales in the third quarter of 2020 were down 3% compared to Q3 2019, according to quarterly data filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and compiled by S&P Global Platts.

The decline was due primarily to the drop in demand for power caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which surged in the summer months. In the second quarter of 2020, when COVID-19 first began to take its toll on demand, wholesale power sales had a year-over-year drop of 4.2%.

The sales in Q3 2020 totaled 1.53 billion MWh, compared to 1.58 billion MWh sold in Q3 2019, which was the largest quarterly sales total ever reported to FERC. The Q3 2020 total was also below the MWh sales volume reported to FERC in Q3 2018, which came to 1.57 billion MWh.

The Q3 2020 decline can be seen in the data reported on sales executed in several independent system operator markets.

According to the data, sales in the PJM Interconnection market, the country's largest, declined 0.8%, and totaled 487 million MWh.

Sales in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market was down 4.6%, or roughly 10 million MWh, to 228 million MWh.

The New York Independent System Operator, the Southeast Reliability Corporation and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council markets were each down in the 3.3% to 3.6% range.

Data reported by participants in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market suggest that the volume of sales in Q3 were off just over 10%, while participants in the adjacent Southwest Power Pool market reported 0.1% fewer sales than in Q3 2019.

There were slight wholesale power sales increases reported by participants in the California Independent System Operator and New England Independent System Operator markets. The total increases were 2.0% and 0.5%, respectively.

Top sellers saw declines

According to the data, Exelon Generation Affiliates was the top ranked wholesale power seller whose sales of 126.7 million MWh represented 8.4% of the total market.

The Exelon Generation Affiliates' reported sales, however, were down 3.6% compared to its sales in Q3 2019, when it was also the top seller.

Shell Energy North America and Vistra Energy were the second and third ranked wholesale power sellers who reported sales of 90.8 million MWh and 90.6 million MWh that were down in Q3 2020 by 3.9% and 3.6%, respectively.

Of the top 20 wholesale power sellers, 14 reported sales declines in Q3, while four companies had sales increases and one was flat. The four companies of the top 20 with increased sales were Calpine, up 2.4%, Entergy Operating Companies, up 3%, Direct Energy Affiliates, up 7.2%, and Evergy, up 3.6%.

The 14th ranked Dominion Regulated Utilities had sales of 25.1 million MWh in Q3 2020, and reported roughly the same total sales in Q3 2019.

Market participants reported fewer wholesale power sales at six of the country's top 10 power delivery points, according to the data.

Sales were off at the ERCOT North and ERCOT Houston delivery points, as well as at the PJM AEP Zone, the PJM COMED Zone, and Cal-ISO's NP 15.

PJM's West Hub, and its ATSI and DOM Zones, however, showed increased sales, as did Cal-ISO's SP15.

Wind and solar

Reported wholesale wind power sales rose 3.8% in Q3 2020 over Q3 2019, to total 56.5 million MWh. Solar wholesale power sales increased year over year 21.6% to total 18.3 million MWh.

The combined sales of wind and solar wholesale power came to almost 75 million MWh, which came to just under 5% of the wholesale power sold.

NextEra Energy Resources was the top seller of both wind and solar wholesale power in Q3. It reported selling 11.4 million MWh of wholesale wind power in Q3 and 2 million MWh of wholesale solar power. The Florida-based company's combined sales of 13.4 million MWh was just under 18% of all the wind and solar wholesale power sold in Q3.