Monthly wholesale electricity prices and demand in New England, April 2020

Real-time electricity lowest of any April, third-lowest month overall

Average wholesale power prices in April 2020 were down 33% in the Real-Time Energy Market when compared to the previous year, falling to $18.09 per megawatt-hour (MWh)*, the lowest April price since the launch of the current market structure in March 2003 and the third-lowest month overall in that time frame. Prices were down by 32% in the Day-Ahead Energy Market when compared to April 2019, averaging $18.36/MWh.

Drivers of wholesale electricity prices

In general, the two main drivers of wholesale electricity prices in New England are the cost of fuel used to produce electricity and consumer demand.

Power plant fuel: Fuel is typically one of the major input costs in producing electricity. Natural gas is the predominant fuel in New England, used to generate 49% of the power produced in 2019 by New England’s power plants, and natural gas-fired power plants usually set the price of wholesale electricity in the region. As a result, average wholesale electricity prices are closely linked to natural gas prices.

The average natural gas price during April was $1.64 per million British thermal units (MMBtu)**. The price fell 36% from the April 2019 average Massachusetts natural gas index price of $2.56/MMBtu. The Mass. index price is a volume-weighted average of trades at four natural gas delivery points in Massachusetts, including two Algonquin points, the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, and the Dracut Interconnect.

Electricity demand: Demand is driven primarily by weather, as well as economic factors. Energy usage during April declined 4.5% to 8,248 GWh from the 8,641 GWh used in April 2019. The average temperature during April was 45˚ Fahrenheit (F) in New England, down four degrees the previous April. The average dewpoint, a measure of humidity, was 30˚F in April, down six degrees from April 2019. There were 612 heating degree days (HDD)*** during April, while the normal number of HDD in April is 513 in New England. In April 2019, there were 488 HDD. ISO New England estimates that societal changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have caused a 3 to 5 percent reduction in consumer demand for electricity.

Consumer demand for electricity for the month peaked on April 27 during the hour from 5 to 6 p.m., when the temperature in New England was 41°F and the dewpoint was 35°. Demand reached 14,231 MW. The April 2020 peak was 5.3% lower than the April 2019 peak of 15,034 MW, set during the hour from 7 to 8 p.m. on April 9, when the temperature was 39°F and the dewpoint was 37°.

Peak demand is driven by weather, which drives the use of heating and air conditioning equipment. The all-time high winter peak was 22,818 MW, recorded during a cold snap in January 2004 when the temperature was -1°F and the dewpoint was -20°. The all-time peak demand in New England was 28,130 MW, recorded during an August 2006 heat wave, when the temperature was 94°F and the dewpoint was 74°. Air conditioning use is far more widespread than electric heating in New England, so weather tends to have a relatively greater impact on the summer peak than the winter peak.

Fuel mix: The mix of resources used in any given time period depends on price and availability, as well as supplemental resource commitments needed to ensure system stability. Natural gas-fired and nuclear generation produced about 68% of the 6,201 GWh of electric energy generated within New England during April, at about 51% and 17%, respectively. Renewable resources generated about 16% of the energy produced within New England, including 7.1% from wood, refuse, and landfill gas; 6.2% from wind; and 2.7% from solar resources. Coal- and oil-fired units did not produce a statistically-significant amount of energy. Hydroelectric resources generated 16%. The region also received net imports of about 2,152 GWh of electricity from neighboring regions.

 


April 2020 and Percent Change from April 2019 and March 2020
April 2020 Change from April 2019 Change from March 2020
Average Real-Time 
Electricity Price 
($/megawatt-hour*)
$18.09 -32.5% +7.6%
Average Natural Gas Price 
($/MMBtu**)
$1.64 -35.9% +3.8%
Peak Demand 14,231 MW -5.3% -10.3%
Total Electricity Use 8,248 GWh -4.5% -9.9%
Weather-Normalized Use***** 8,111 GWh -6.5% -13.4%
*One megawatt (MW) of electricity can serve about 750 to 1,000 average homes in New England. A megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity can serve about 750 to 1,000 homes for one hour. One gigawatt-hour (GWh) can serve about 750,000 to 1 million homes for one hour. **A British thermal unit (Btu) is used to describe the heat value of fuels, providing a uniform standard for comparing different fuels. One million British thermal units are shown as MMBtu. ***A degree day is a measure of heating or cooling. A zero degree day occurs when no heating or cooling is required; as temperatures drop, more heating days are recorded; when temperatures rise, more cooling days are recorded. The base point for measuring degree days is 65 degrees. Each degree of a day’s mean temperature that is above 65 degrees is counted as one cooling degree day, while each degree of a day’s mean temperature that is below 65 degrees is counted as one heating degree day. A day’s mean temperature of 90 degrees equals 25 cooling degree days, while a day’s mean temperature of 45 degrees equals 20 heating degree days. ****Since June 1, 2018, active demand-response resources have been able to participate on an hourly basis in the wholesale electricity markets. These resources reduce demand in real time.*****Weather-normalized demand indicates how much electricity would have been consumed if the weather had been the same as the average weather over the last 20 years.

 



Historical weather data provided by DTN, LLC.; Underlying natural gas data furnished by ICE

 

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