trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/q8uf-o-cmjk4i9lnxzg_mw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

AM Power Report: Dailies could slip with load expectations in week's opener

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


AM Power Report: Dailies could slip with load expectations in week's opener

Editor's Note: Please be advised that S&P Global Market Intelligence will no longer publish daily articles on price trends in the U.S. natural gas, electricity and emissions markets beginning June 1, 2018. Pricing data for these energy markets will continue to be available on the Market Intelligence platform.

Day-ahead power values could falter in the week's opening session Monday, May 21, in line with mostly deflating demand forecasts for Tuesday.

Natural gas prices are expected to offer little in the way of support for power markets. Losing 1.2 cents in the previous session, NYMEX June natural gas futures were extending lower early Monday on profit-taking. At last look at 6:50 a.m. ET, the front-month contract was down 2.6 cents to $2.821/MMBtu.

Most grid operators anticipate sagging load as the workweek unfolds.

In the Northeast, demand in New England is poised to peak at 14,720 MW on Monday and 13,910 MW on Tuesday, and load in New York is called to reach 17,984 MW at the start of the business week and 17,670 MW on Tuesday. In the mid-Atlantic, PJM Western region demand is seen cresting at 54,369 MW on Monday and 52,854 MW on Tuesday, and load in PJM Mid-Atlantic is projected to hit highs at 35,747 MW on Monday and 35,101 MW on Tuesday.

In the Midwest, PJM AEP region load is forecast to reach highs at 17,484 MW on Monday and 16,813 MW on Tuesday, and PJM ComEd demand is expected to top out at 11,552 MW at the return of the workweek and 11,308 MW on Tuesday.

In the South, load in Texas should near 56,312 MW on Monday and 58,296 MW on Tuesday, bucking the wider decline. In the West, California demand is forecast to see highs at 28,445 MW on Monday and 28,269 MW on Tuesday.

In term action, June power prices were varied but mostly retreated ahead of the weekend as weakness at the natural gas futures arena signaled a downdraft in fueling costs.

In the East, a 30-cent decline took June power prices to the high $20s in New England as a 25-cent decrease drove PJM West June to the low to mid-$30s. Further along the forward curve, power parcels for July were assessed in the high $30s at both hubs.

In the Midwest, June power prices were up about 30 cents on the day in the mid- to high $30s at PJM AD, while a similar offering that was valued in the low $30s was off 5 cents on the day at PJM Northern Illinois and down roughly 30 cents at MISO Indiana. July power was marked in the high $30s to the low $40s overall.

In the South, ERCOT North saw month-ahead power value ascend by nearly $9 to the low $70s as hub activity for July power ran through the low $130s.

In the West, front-month power deals slid by 35 cents to the high $10s at Mid-Columbia but rose 90 cents to the high $30s at Palo Verde and deflated by almost 50 cents to the low $30s at South Path-15. Transactions for July power were reported in the low $30s at Mid-Columbia, in the high $40s at Palo Verde and in the low $50s at South Path-15.

SNL Image SNL Image

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.