U.S. wholesale power and natural gas prices moved higher year over year in November, but with the exception of California and New England, the natural gas market outpaced the power market, lowering generator margins.
Average U.S. day-ahead market power prices were up 17.7% year over year to $31.68/MWh, with the California ISO and ISO New England experiencing both the highest prices and largest year-over-year gains of the organized markets.

At the same time, average natural gas prices at hubs serving power markets across the U.S. were up 22.6% to $2.950/MMBtu. Average prices at hubs serving the ISO New England were highest and saw the largest year-over-year increase but did not keep pace with power prices. Meanwhile, average prices at hubs serving the California ISO saw the smallest year-over-year increase in natural gas prices.

U.S. average gas-fired implied heat rates, or the efficiency rate at which the market cost of power equals the cost of burning natural gas to generate electricity, fell 3.9% year over year to 10,739 Btu/kWh. California ISO implied heat rates jumped 11.4% year over year, while those of ISO New England edged only 2.1% higher over the same period.

Coal-fired implied heat rates improved year over year in markets with a substantial amount of coal-fired capacity such as PJM Interconnection, the Midcontinent ISO and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, but natural gas-fired generation retained an advantage over coal in those markets.

Amid the shifting prices, November average and peak loads were mixed, with most markets seeing total net generation climb year over year.

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, natural gas and coal index prices, as well as forwards and futures, visit our Commodities pages.
