MISO power prices edge higher on weather alerts, capacity advisories

Power prices in the MISO region climbed June 9 trading as it issued weather and capacity alerts on rising temperatures.

The real-time locational marginal price at Michigan Hub rose to about $82/MWh, while Indiana Hub traded just shy of $80/MWh as of 3:40 pm ET.

In the day-ahead market, the on-peak price at Indiana Hub rose about $2.50 on the day to trade around $47/MWh. The price jumped 32.3% to an average of about $44/MWh from an average of $33.25/MWh last week.

Power prices trended higher as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator issued a Hot Weather Alert for the North, Central, and South regions effective June 10 with average temperatures expected to be in the 90s Fahrenheit.

The ISO also issued a Maximum Generation Capacity Advisory because of the temperatures for June 10 until further notice, instructing market participants to "implement the MISO Market Capacity Emergency procedure, follow procedures for emergency conditions and ensure all market data is updated with best-available information."

Indiana Hub day-ahead on-peak year-on-year average prices for the beginning of June also trended notably higher, up about $10.75 so far this June compared with last year at the same time. Looking at June 10 delivery alone, the day-ahead on-peak contract last year settled around $28.75/MWh, about $18.25 lower than the current day-ahead price for June 10.

Peakload demand in MISO saw significant gains over the last few days. The ISO forecast for June 9-10 stood near 107 GW. These were the strongest forecasts since the February freeze event.

Further ahead, the US National Weather Service eight- to 14-day outlook showed moderate chances of above-average temperatures for much of the central US, likely putting support under power pricing.