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Prices in ISO New England surged by 140% to about $237 per
megawatt hour (MWh), while prices in PJM Interconnection, the
country's largest grid operator, soared by nearly 260% to
roughly $145 per MWh.
Looking ahead to Monday, however, when the weather is expected
to turn milder, power prices in PJM were on track to drop around
78% to just $32 per MWh, according to data from the
Intercontinental Exchange.
The prices for Friday neared those reached during a
late-December polar vortex, which left the grid operators racing
to match demand with electric generation to narrowly avoid
rotating blackouts.
Some generators that failed to supply power during last year's
winter storm now face penalties totaling about $3 billion under
agreements with PJM and nearly $40 million in penalties in
connection with ISO New England.
Parts of New England could see all-time low temperatures during
the freezing blast expected to last through Sunday, according to
the National Weather Service (NWS).
ISO New England said it currently has enough available capacity
to meet forecasted demand peaks for the day.
With spot gas prices in New England rising by 437% to $26 per
million British thermal units, also their highest since late
December, some of the region's power generators have begun to
burn oil instead of gas. The share of fuel oil and gas used in
New England's power generation mix reached roughly 17% and 20%,
respectively, on Friday.
Fuel oil typically makes up around 1% and gas 50% of the power
generation fuel mix, which also includes nuclear, coal and
renewables like wind and solar. The region's limited access to
gas supplies has led it to burn more oil in times of frigid
weather.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; additional reporting by Scott
DiSavino; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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