Electricity Monthly Update
Regional Wholesale Markets: March 2024
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 natural gas and electricity prices during the shoulder month of March remained on the lower end of the 12-month range for all selected hubs. In wholesale electricity markets, 12-month lows were set in Southern California (CAISO) on March 26 and in the Southwest (Palo Verde) on March 28 and were nearly set in New England (ISON), New York City (NYISO) and in the Midwest (MISO) at some point during the month. New 12-month low wholesale natural gas prices were set during March in the Midwest (Chicago Citygates), Louisiana (Henry Hub), the Southwest (El Paso San Juan), Southern California (SoCal Border), and Northern California (PG&E Citygate). Natural gas prices stayed well below $2/MMBtu at all selected locations outside of New England and California.
Electricity system daily peak demand
Electricity system daily peak demand highs remained on the lower end of the 12-month range at all selected electricity systems except for Bonneville Power Administration during the shoulder month of March. The spring and fall shoulder months typically have milder weather and less energy demand than the peak summer and winter periods. In California, a new 12-month demand low was set in CAISO on March 16.