Frigid Eastern U.S. Has Spot Power Trading Near 3-Year High
The eastern U.S. just experienced some of the highest power prices in almost three years as demand surged amid a cold snap.
Spot power on PJM Interconnection LLC’s benchmark Western hub surged 564 percent to $213.90 a megawatt-hour between 8 and 9 a.m. local time. That was the highest average for that period since February 2015, according to Genscape Inc. data compiled by Bloomberg. Across the PJM grid during that hour, the load exceeded 114,000 megawatts, up 8.7 percent from the same time the previous day.
In Chicago, temperatures will probably only reach 9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 13 Celsius) Wednesday, which is 24 degrees below normal, according to AccuWeather.
