Price activity for next-day power could be aimed lower Thursday, Feb. 8, in line with generally declining demand forecasts for the close of the workweek.
Traders will also watch natural gas, bot spot and futures, for price direction for the power markets. Sliding 5.7 cents in the prior day, NYMEX March natural gas futures were advancing overnight on short-covering before the morning release of the latest round of weekly storage data. At 6:52 a.m. ET, the contract was up 2.4 cents to $2.726/MMBtu.
Market analysts are calling for an average pull of 115-Bcf from storage for the week ended Feb. 2. This will compare to the 142-Bcf year-ago withdrawal and the 151-Bcf five-year average pull.
In terms of demand, outlooks reflect diminished load in much of the country at the close of the workweek, when business-related demand typically wanes approaching the weekend break.
In the Northeast, demand in New England is expected to peak at 17,740 MW on Thursday and 17,250 MW on Friday, while load in New York should near 21,150 MW on Thursday and 20,432 MW on Friday. Farther south, PJM Western region load is seen cresting at 61,883 MW on Thursday and 59,899 MW on Friday, while PJM Mid-Atlantic demand is projected to reach highs at 40,117 MW on Thursday and 39,799 MW on Friday.
In the Midwest, demand in PJM AEP region is forecast to see highs at 20,064 MW on Thursday and 19,749 MW at the end of the business week, while load in PJM ComEd is called to reach 14,047 MW on Thursday and 13,389 MW on Friday.
In the South, Texas demand is poised to top out at 51,489 MW on Thursday and 43,436 MW on Friday.
In the West, California load could touch a high near 29,000 MW on Thursday and 27,670 MW at the close of the workweek, which should put pressure on power dailies in the region, as traders book revised partly weekend products for Friday-Saturday delivery.
Along the forward curve, power values for March were thoroughly mixed Feb. 7, as the daily seesaw activity in natural gas futures trading of late implied fluctuating fueling costs.
In the East, the prompt-month power offering was $1 weaker day on day in the high $40s in New England but roughly $1 stronger in the high $30s at PJM West. Power for April delivery was marked in the low to mid-$30s at both hubs.
In the Midwest, March power deals were lifted by around 30 cents at the PJM Interconnection markets to the low $30s at the AD hub and the high $20s at Northern Illinois hub. Similar trades were unchanged in the low $30s at MISO Indiana. Farther along the forward curve, power transaction for April were assessed in the high $20s to the low $30s overall.
In the South, price action for front-month power was steady in the low $20s at ERCOT West but off as much as 30 cents on the day in the high $20s to the low $30s at the rest of the ERCOT markets. Regional price activity for April power spanned the mid-$20s to the low $30s.
In the West, power trades for March rose by 65 cents to the low into mid-$20s at both North Path-15 and South Path-15 in California, while similar transaction climbed by 50 cents to the low into mid-$10s at Mid-Columbia but deflated by 50 cents to the low $20s at Palo Verde. Power deals for April were done in the low $10s at Mid-Columbia and the low to high $20s elsewhere in the region.

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.
