U.S. Northeast Power Prices Slump as Cooler Weather Quells Load
June 5
(Bloomberg Energy) -
U.S. Northeast spot power prices for energy
delivered tomorrow fell today as cooler weather was expected to reduce
air-cooling demand, traders said.
According to the PJM Interconnection LLC hub,
electric demand across tomorrow's sixteen peak hours was expected to drop an
average of 1,263 megawatts an hour, or nearly 3 percent from today's levels, to
41,263 megawatts an hour.
The Bloomberg peak day-ahead PJM power index
fell $5.12 a megawatt-hour from yesterday to $34.40, a 12.9 percent decline.
"Prices are not going to be that strong
tomorrow and Friday," said one northeast utility power trader. "We're
expecting some pretty strong thunderstorms here, if that happens, that'll
really cool things off."
According to Lexington, Massachusetts-based
Meteorlogix, temperatures in Philadelphia were expected to reach a high of 79
degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow, down from today's forecast for a daily high of 90
degrees. Overnight temperatures will decline to 59 degrees, down from tonight's
forecast high of 72 degrees.
Weather-related demand for tomorrow was
forecast to decline as far north as the New England Independent System
Operator, though not as severely as was expected in southern sections of the
region.
New England utility power requirements for
tomorrow's 16 peak hours were expected to average 16,301 megawatts an hour, 150
megawatts an hour less than today's projected load, according to estimates from
the New England ISO.
The Bloomberg New England daily peak power
index rose an average of 88 cents to $35.63, mostly amid reports that North
Atlantic Energy Service Corp's 1,160-megawat Seabrook Unit 1 reactor was
operating at reduced capacity.
The company said it reduced output at the
unit to correct a heater drain problem. Traders said they expect the unit to
resume full capacity soon as operators were increasing output by about 3
percent an hour. The company completed a planned refueling and maintenance
outage on May 31.
In New York, west-to-east transmission
congestion problems persist on the Central East Gathering System, traders said.
The western New York peak power price at Zone A trailed peak power values in New York City by $28.97 a megawatt-hour. The Bloomberg eastern New York index at Zone G fell $6.27, or 13.6 percent from yesterday, to $40.00 a megawatt-hour. -Brian Whary