Power prices at wholesale electricity markets around the U.S. moved in different directions during the week ended March 2 with volatility mainly driven by the transition of prompt-month products from March to April.
Along the natural gas futures arena, trading activity kicked off the week of Feb. 26 with the front-month March contract rolling off the board up 1.4 cents at $2.639/MMBtu. The April contract, setting up to take the lead, notched a 2.9-cent gain to settle at $2.686/MMBtu with support from near-term weather forecasts. The new front-month contact, however, spent its debut session Feb. 27 on the modest downside and closed in the red at $2.683/MMBtu, down 0.3 cent.
The transition from winter to spring exerted additional downward pressure on values Feb. 28, with front-month gas closing the day down 1.6 cents at $2.667/MMBtu. Following reports of a 78-Bcf net withdrawal from natural gas inventories during the week ended Feb. 23 that was above consensus estimates but far lower than historical averages, April gas rebounded March 1 with the contract adding 3.1 cents to settle at $2.698/MMBtu. April gas returned to shallow negative territory March 2, closing the review week down 0.3 cent at $2.695/MMBtu. Overall, with the transition of front-month products, April gas added 5.6 cents during the week.
Despite the modest rise in fueling costs, prompt-month products varied during the review week.

Mirroring movement in gas futures, deals at PJM AEP-Dayton traded for March at $31.50 on Feb. 26 and transitioned to April at $33.20 on March 1, before ending the week with a $2.05 gain at $33.55.
Also traded higher, PJM Northern Illinois exchanged power for March at $27.75 on Feb. 26 and transitioned to April at $28.45 on March 1, April traded to $28.80 on March 2 and was $1.05 higher for the period. MISO Indiana saw March deals at $33.75 on Feb. 26 before April moved into the lead position trading to $35.59 on March 1 and $35.13 on March 2, $1.38 higher over the week.
In Texas, prompt-month power at ERCOT North was priced for March at $27.56 on Feb. 26 and then for April at $28.49 and $29.27 on March 1 and March 2, respectively, adding $1.71 week on week. Further along the forward curve, concerns about generation shortages in Texas are driving the market's power prices for the upcoming summer to record levels. As of Feb. 27, the price of on-peak power delivered during July and August 2018 reached $134.60, the highest level in nearly six years.
In other markets, losses mostly defined trading activity. In the West, South Path-15 traded packages for March at $30.75 on Feb. 26 and moved to April at $24.50 on March 1 and $24.22 on March 2, dropping $6.53 for the period. At Mid-Columbia, March power traded to $19.05 on Feb. 26, April power traded to $14.98 on March 1 and $14.80 on March 2, for a weekly loss of $4.25. A modest 73-cent loss was notched at Palo Verde for the week. Prompt-month transactions were valued for March at $24.50 on Feb. 26 and then for April at $24.04 on March 1 and $23.77 on March 2.
Varied but predominantly lower moves were seen along the East Coast. The New England Mass hub assessed prompt-month deals for March at $36.28 on Feb. 26 and for April at $34.79 and $34.68 on March 1 and March 2, respectively, down $1.59 for the week. New York Zone G priced power for March at $34.66 on Feb. 26 and traded April at $33.00 on March 1 and $32.55 on March 2, down $2.11 during the period. Defying the downtrend, packages at PJM West added $2.40 for the week and were transacted for March at $31.85 on Feb. 26 and for April at $33.65 on March 1 and $34.25 on March 2.


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.
