Electricity Monthly Update
Regional Wholesale Markets: August 2025
The United States has many regional wholesale electricity markets. Below we look at monthly and annual ranges of on-peak, daily wholesale prices at selected pricing locations and daily peak demand for selected electricity systems in the Nation. The range of daily prices and demand data is shown for the report month and for the year ending with the report month.
Prices and demand are shown for six Regional Transmission Operator (RTO) markets: ISO New England (ISO-NE), New York ISO (NYISO), PJM Interconnection (PJM), Midwest ISO (MISO), Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and two locations in the California ISO (CAISO). Also shown are wholesale prices at trading hubs in Louisiana (into Entergy), Southwest (Palo Verde) and Northwest (Mid-Columbia). In addition to the RTO systems, peak demand is also shown for the Southern Company, Progress Florida, and the Bonneville Power Authority (BPA). Refer to the map tabs for the locations of the electricity and natural gas pricing hubs and the electric systems for which peak demand ranges are shown.
In the second tab immediately below, we show monthly and annual ranges of on-peak, daily wholesale natural gas prices at selected pricing locations in the United States. The range of daily natural gas prices is shown for the same month and year as the electricity price range chart. Wholesale electricity prices are closely tied to wholesale natural gas prices in all but the center of the country. Therefore, one can often explain current wholesale electricity prices by looking at what is happening with natural gas prices.
Wholesale prices
All regions east of the Rockies saw wholesale electricity prices in a much tighter spread in August 2025 compared to the previous month, with almost all regions seeing wholesale electricity prices at the bottom end of their respective twelve-month spreads. New England (ISONE) and New York City (NYISO) were the regions with the largest spread in wholesale electricity prices during August 2025, with prices ranging from $29.00/MWh to $136.00/MWh during the month. Louisiana (into Entergy) was the region with the smallest spread, where wholesale electricity prices ranged from $24.00/MWh to $45.00/MWh.
Wholesale natural gas prices were again in very tight ranges across most markets in August 2025. New England (Algonquin) and Northwest (Sumas) were the only trading hubs that saw a relatively large range in wholesale natural gas prices during the month, with prices ranging from $0.20/MMBtu to $5.00/MMBtu during the month across both regions. All other regions saw a minimal spread in wholesale natural gas prices during August 2025.
Electricity system daily peak demand
Many parts of the country saw elevated levels of electricity system daily peak demand due to hot summer temperatures experienced in August 2025. Specifically, Texas (ERCOT) saw its highest level of daily peak demand this year during the month as the electricity system experienced an extended summer heat wave during the middle part of August 2025. The Midwest (MISO), Southern Company, and Progress Florida also saw their daily peak demand levels near the upper end of their annual spread for the year.