Editor's Note:
The price of day-ahead power could meander Thursday, May 31, on the back of choppy demand outlooks for Friday.
Natural gas futures could offer support as the front-month July contract follows prior-day losses with slight gains overnight, last trading 1.2 cents higher at $2.897/MMBtu at 6:45 a.m. ET ahead of the mid-morning release of storage data that is expected to show an above-average 100-Bcf build for the week ended May 25.
On the demand side, load forecasts for the close of the truncated workweek are mixed.
In the Northeast, demand in New England is projected to peak at 15,000 MW on Thursday and 16,750 MW on Friday, while load in New York should near 20,114 MW on Thursday and 22,542 MW on Friday. In the mid-Atlantic, PJM Western region load is poised to crest at 68,507 MW on Thursday and 60,702 MW on Friday, while PJM Mid-Atlantic load is forecast to hit highs at 38,451 MW on Thursday and 42,053 MW on Friday.
In the Midwest, demand in the PJM AEP region is called to reach 20,180 MW on Thursday and 18,973 MW at the end of the business week, while load in PJM ComEd is expected to top out at 17,377 MW on Thursday and 13,216 MW on Friday.
In the South, Texas demand could touch a high near 66,535 MW on Thursday and 67,335 MW on Friday.
In the West, load in California could see highs at 27,908 MW on Thursday and 27,943 MW on Friday, which should limit pressure on power dailies in the region Thursday as traders book revised partly weekend products for Friday-Saturday delivery.
In term trade, price action for June and July power was choppy Wednesday, with the former in its penultimate session as the front-month offering.
In the East, June power was up about 10 cents on the day in the high $20s in New England and down 55 cents in the low to mid-$30s at PJM West. Power for July delivery was valued in the high $30s at both hubs, with New England pricing logging a near 30-cent gain and PJM West activity posting a roughly 20-cent decline.
In the Midwest, power deals for June climbed by approximately 50 cents to the high $30s at PJM AD and rose by almost 40 cents to the low $30s at PJM Northern Illinois, but deflated by more than $1 to the mid- into high $30s at MISO Indiana. July power transactions were around 90 cents stronger on the day in the low $40s at PJM AD and roughly 80 cents higher in the upper $30s at PJM Northern Illinois, but off over $1 in the high $30s at MISO Indiana.
In the South, ERCOT North saw June power tumble by more than $21 to almost $110 but July power advance by near $4 to the low $150s.
In the West, a roughly 50-cent gain took Mid-Columbia June to the high $10s, as better-than-$1 losses steered June power to the mid- to high $30s at both Palo Verde and South Path-15. July power was about 40 cents softer on the day in the low $30s at Mid-Columbia, while a similar offering was more than $1 weaker 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.
