Electricity Monthly Update
Regional Wholesale Markets: July 2023
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
In Texas, ERCOT set a new 12-month wholesale electricity low price on July 26 at $4.50/MWh. This was the lowest price at any selected trading hub during the month. The highest price in the country during the month was also recorded in ERCOT, which hit $480/MWh on July 17. High prices at all other selected trading hubs ranged between $44-$231/MWh during July. Several wholesale natural gas trading hubs dipped below $2/MMBtu in July. Prices dropped to $1.24/MMBtu in the Mid-Atlantic (Tetco M-3), $1.32/MMBtu in New York City (Transco Z6 NY), $1.57/MMBtu in New England (Algonquin), and $1.75/MMBtu in the Northwest (Sumas). The highest prices in the country and the only trading hubs exceeding $7/MMBtu during the month happened in opposite parts of the country. Prices reached $7.65/MMBtu in New England (Algonquin) and $7.12/MMBtu in Southern California (SoCal Border).
Electricity system daily peak demand
Electricity demand was high across the country and set several new 12-month highs during July as states along all three coasts (Atlantic, Pacific, and the Gulf) experienced one of the hottest July’s on record. Florida, Maine, Arizona, and New Mexico all recorded their respective hottest July on record (as measured by average temperature during the month) with most other states along the coasts recording a top-10 hottest July on record. This heat drove demand to new 12-month highs in the Mid-Atlantic (PJM), the Midwest (MISO) and Progress Florida, while demand in Texas (ERCOT) set a new all-time high on July 31.