Editor's Note:
The price of power dailies could be tethered to the downside Thursday, May 17, by expectations of predominantly diminished demand at the close of the workweek.
Natural gas markets will be watched as well. Losing 2.1 cents in the prior trading day, NYMEX front-month June natural gas futures were down 0.7 cent early Thursday to $2.808/MMBtu ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET release of the latest round of storage data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's report is expected to outline a storage injection from 99 Bcf to 110 Bcf, with a consensus pegged at a 104-Bcf addition into storage for the week ended May 11.
On the demand side, outlooks suggest generally softer load at the close of the workweek, when business-related demand typically wanes approaching the weekend break.
In the Northeast, load in New England should near 14,140 MW on Thursday and 13,160 MW on Friday while demand in New York is projected to peak at 17,791 MW on Thursday and 16,686 MW on Friday. In the mid-Atlantic, PJM Western region load could reach highs at 52,261 MW on Thursday and 48,357 MW on Friday while PJM Mid-Atlantic demand could crest at 31,250 MW on Thursday and 29,417 MW on Friday.
In the Midwest, demand in the PJM AEP region is forecast to hit highs at 16,456 MW on Thursday and 14,985 MW on Friday while load in PJM ComEd could top out at 12,303 MW on Thursday and 11,858 MW on Friday.
In the South, demand in Texas is poised to reach highs at 63,656 MW on Thursday and 62,869 MW on Friday.
In the West, California load is called to reach 28,183 MW on Thursday and 27,035 MW on Friday, which should add to downside pressure on power prices in the region Thursday as participants book altered partly weekend trading parcels for Friday-Saturday delivery.
Along the forward curve, June power prices mostly unraveled at midweek, in tandem with declining front-month natural gas futures that implied a downdraft in fueling costs.
In the East, trading activity for June power was about 70 cents weaker in the high $20s in New England and 45 cents softer in the low to mid-$30s at PJM West. Power deals for July were assessed in the high $30s at both hubs.
In the Midwest, roughly 10-cent losses nudged prompt-month power prices to the low $30s at PJM Northern Illinois and to the mid- to high $30s at PJM AD, as an approximately 70-cent decline steered MISO Indiana June to the low $30s. July power was quoted in the high $30s to the low $40s.
In the South, ERCOT North saw front-month power pricing deflate by more than $2 to the high $50s to low $60s, as hub action for July power delivery spanned the mid- to high $130s.
In the West, June power prices climbed by roughly 70 cents to the high $10s at Mid-Columbia but fell by as much as 80 cents to the high $30s at Palo Verde and to the mid-$30s at South Path-15. Farther along the forward curve, July power parcels were valued in the low $30s at Mid-Columbia, the high $40s at Palo Verde and the low $50s at South Path-15.


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.
