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Daily power markets supported by demand at midweek

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Daily power markets supported by demand at midweek

Power prices across the country leaned mixed to predominantly higher Wednesday, Feb. 7, as most locations derived support from strong Thursday load forecasts.

After notching scant gains in early trade, the front-month March contract reversed the uptick and closed the midweek session with a 5.7-cent loss to settle at $2.702/MMBtu.

Looking at other supply, total U.S. nuclear plant availability nudged higher early Feb. 7 to 96.06%.

Mass hub values notch losses; PJM West edges higher

Mixed moves were noted across next-day markets in the East on Wednesday, despite support from strong load forecasts.

Along next-day markets, PJM West packages added about $4 and changed hands in the high $30s, while the New England Mass hub traded power almost $3 lower in the low $70s to low $80s.

Mixed to higher moves were seen at day-ahead markets, with the packages at the Mass hub shedding about $3 and averaging $70.97, while parcels at New York Zone J rose by roughly $6 and averaged $52.62. Day-ahead deals at New York Zone A and New York Zone G saw little change from Tuesday and averaged $34.33 and $38.24, respectively.

Demand is projected to rise toward the latter part of the workweek. New England is calling for highs of 17,610 MW on Wednesday and 17,750 MW on Thursday, while New York is projecting peaks of 20,907 MW on Wednesday and 21,112 MW on Thursday. The PJM Mid-Atlantic region expects load to reach 39,562 MW on Wednesday and 40,077 MW on Thursday, while the PJM Western region should see demand touch 61,170 MW on Wednesday and 62,674 MW on Thursday.

Calif., Southwest markets steady; Northwest dailies sag

Excluding hubs in the Northwest, power markets in the West ticked higher Wednesday with packages backed up by projections of higher Thursday demand.

The California ISO is poised to see load hit highs of 28,246 MW on Wednesday and 28,585 MW on Thursday. Propped up by load, power at South Path-15 added less than $1 from Tuesday and was exchanged in the high $20s.

Gains of $1 to $2 were seen in the Southwest, with Palo Verde packages ranging in the high teens to low $20s while Mead trades spanned the low $20s. Defying the trend were markets in the Northwest, with Mid-Columbia and the California-Oregon Border shedding about $2 on the session. Power was exchanged in the single digits to low teens at Mid-Columbia and in the mid- to high teens at the California-Oregon Border.

Midwest power prices backed up by strong load forecasts

Daily power markets in the Midwest notched scant gains on Wednesday with values propped up by outlooks of elevated demand. MISO Indiana saw most of the session's action, with power exchanged in the low $30s, up by less than a dollar from Tuesday.

In terms of load, the PJM AEP region should see demand top out at 19,294 MW on Wednesday and 20,603 MW on Thursday, while the PJM ComEd region forecasts peak loads of 13,914 MW on Wednesday and 13,957 MW on Thursday.

Texas DAMs biased higher with demand

Mixed to ultimately higher moves were noted across day-ahead markets in Texas on Wednesday with values deriving support from robust Thursday load forecasts.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is projecting peak loads of 49,280 MW on Wednesday and 51,382 MW on Thursday.

Along day-ahead markets, power prices at ERCOT Houston and ERCOT North were flat to Tuesday and averaged $27.65 and $27.81, respectively, while ERCOT South trades added about $2 and averaged $29.70. Conversely, ERCOT West packages shed less than a dollar and averaged $26.61.

Transactions at Into Southern were pegged in the mid-$20s, down from a Tuesday index of $32.00.

Market prices and included industry data are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change. For more detailed market data, including power and natural gas index prices, as well as forwards and futures, visit our Commodities pages.