Electricity Monthly Update
Regional Wholesale Markets: February 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
Wholesale electricity prices in New York City (NYISO) and New England (ISONE) saw a large range during February 2025, as this part of the country experienced below average temperatures during the month, resulting in spikes in wholesale electricity prices in these regions. Both electricity markets saw their wholesale electricity prices reach lows around $50/MWh and highs just below $200/MWh during February 2025. Texas (ERCOT) was another market that also saw a large range of wholesale electricity prices in February 2025, with this market seeing a low of $14/MWh and high of $163/MWh during the month. However, the largest range of wholesale electricity prices was seen in the Northwest (Mid-C), as this region of the country saw periods of very cold temperatures during February 2025, resulting in electricity prices ranging from a low of $24/MWh to a high of $254/MWh during February 2025.
Wholesale natural gas prices were in fairly tight ranges across most markets in February 2025. New England (Algonquin) was the only part of the country that saw a large range in wholesale natural gas prices during February, mainly due to this area of the country experiencing below average temperatures during a time of year when natural gas pipeline constraints are present. This resulted in New England wholesale natural gas prices ranging from around $4/MMBtu to just above $20/MMBtu during February 2025.
Electricity system daily peak demand
Electricity system daily peak demand varied across the country, with Southern Company and Bonneville Power Administration seeing daily demand at the top of their twelve-month ranges during February 2025. In particular, Bonneville Power Administration almost reached an all-time daily peak demand during February due to periods of extremely cold temperatures during the first half of the month that resulted in increased electricity demand in the region. California (CAISO) was on the opposite end of this spectrum, seeing daily peak demand levels closer to fifty percent of its maximum peak demand during the month.