Editor's Note:
Day-ahead power prices could chop around Wednesday, May 16, in line with mixed load outlooks for Thursday.
Little support is expected from natural gas. Losing 0.6 cent in the prior trading day, NYMEX June natural gas futures were extending to the downside early Wednesday ahead of the opening bell. At 6:45 a.m. ET, the front-month contract was down 1.6 cents to $2.820/MMBtu.
Looking at demand, forecasts for the latter part of the workweek are varied.
In the Northeast, New England demand is seen hitting highs at 13,800 MW on Wednesday and 14,240 MW on Thursday while load in New York is poised to buck the wider decline to peak at 17,467 MW on Wednesday and 18,147 MW on Thursday.
To the south, demand in the PJM Western region is expected to top out at 53,607 MW on Wednesday and 52,363 MW in the latter part of the business week while PJM Mid-Atlantic load should near 33,259 MW on Wednesday and 31,214 MW on Thursday.
In the Midwest, load in the PJM AEP region is projected to touch a high near 17,162 MW on Wednesday and 16,551 MW on Thursday while PJM ComEd demand is forecast to reach highs at 12,288 MW on Wednesday and 12,250 MW in the latter part of the workweek.
Elsewhere, Texas demand could also defy the broad downtrend to crest at 60,593 MW on Wednesday and 63,243 MW on Thursday, while California load could see highs at 27,894 MW on Wednesday and 27,316 MW on Thursday.
In term action, power deals for June mostly notched gains May 15 on the back of supportive mid-range weather outlooks.
In the East, prompt-month power tacked on about 30 cents in transactions reported in the high $20s to low $30s in New England and in the mid-$30s at PJM West. Along the forward curve, July power was marked in the high $30s at both hubs.
In the Midwest, June power was valued in the low to high $30s, up almost 10 cents day on day at PJM AD but bucking the wider uptrend with a near 20-cent decline at PJM Northern Illinois and a roughly 40-cent reduction at MISO Indiana. Power for July delivery was quoted in the high $30s to the low $40s overall.
In the South, ERCOT North saw month-ahead power prices lifted more than $8 to the low $60s, as hub activity for July power ran through the low $140s.
In the West, Mid-Columbia June was near unchanged in the mid- to high $10s while both Palo Verde June and South Path-15 June were almost $2 stronger in the high $30s. July power was assessed in the high $20s to low $30s at Mid-Columbia, in the high $40s at Palo Verde and in 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.
