The price of power for day-ahead delivery could be tethered to the downside Tuesday, Feb. 6, amid pressure from generally weaker demand outlooks for midweek and the prior day's downdraft in natural gas.
Opening the new week 9.9 cents lower in the Feb. 5 session, NYMEX march natural gas futures were slightly higher in early trading Tuesday. At 6:50 a.m. ET, the front-month contract was up 0.9 cent to $2.756/MMBtu amid lackluster fundamental support.
Cash natural gas prices are likely to run mixed but mostly lower, in step with the recent futures activity.
On the demand side, most grid operators across the country see softer load at midweek.
In the Northeast, demand in New England is expected to reach highs at 17,320 MW on Tuesday and 17,500 MW on Wednesday, while load in New York is seen hitting highs at 21,034 MW on Tuesday and 20,892 MW on Wednesday. In the Mid-Atlantic, the PJM grid operator sees PJM Western region demand cresting at 60,919 MW on Tuesday and 59,924 MW in the middle of the business week, while PJM Mid-Atlantic load is called to reach 39,486 MW on Tuesday and 39,020 MW on Wednesday.
In the Midwest, demand in PJM AEP region is poised to peak at 19,973 MW on Tuesday and 18,930 MW on Wednesday, while load in PJM ComEd is projected to see highs at 13,951 MW on Tuesday and 13,866 MW at midweek.
In the South, Texas load could top out at 42,083 MW on Tuesday and 44,436 MW on Wednesday, bucking the broad downtrend. In the West, demand in California could touch a high near 28,200 MW on Tuesday and 29,200 MW on Wednesday.
In term activity, March power notched losses across the board in the week's opening session Feb. 5, as weakness at the natural gas futures arena implied cheaper fueling costs.
In the East, front-month power unraveled more than $3 in trades done in the low $50s in New England and shed about $2 in deals carried out in the high $30s at PJM West. Along the forward curve, power for April delivery was transacted in the low to mid-$30s at both hubs.
In the Midwest, losses on either side of $2 steered pricing for March power to the high $20s at PJM Northern Illinois and to the low $30s at both PJM AD and MISO Indiana. Power values for April similarly spanned the high $20s to the low $30s overall.
In the South, power deals for prompt-month delivery at the ERCOT markets were off 20 cents to 55 cents in the high $20s into the low $30s. Regional trading action for April power was pegged in the mid-$20s into the low $30s.
In the West, North Path-15 and South Path-15 in California saw power prices for March deflate $1 to $2 to the low $20s, as month-ahead power pricing fell by around 70 cents to the low into mid-$10s at Mid-Columbia and to the low $20s at Palo Verde. Price activity for April power was spotted in the low $10s at Mid-Columbia and the low to high $20s elsewhere in the region.

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.
