ERCOT spot power prices drop as wind generation steps up

摘要

ERCOT spot power prices fell drastically on June 8, as wind generation sees significant expected gains on the day. ERCOT North Hub day-ahead on-peak fell about $66 from the June 5 Intercontinental Exchange settled price of $97.38/MWh to trade around $31.40/MWh. ERCOT North Hub real-time off-peak package also trended lower on the day, falling about $1.50 to trade around $10.50/MWh. Turning to forwards packages, prices were trending in the same direction as the spot market, with ERCOT North Hub real-time package for the months of July and August trading down about $7.80 at around $116.70/MWh. Wind generation is projected to rise day on day, which could put downwards pressure on the spot electricity market. According to ERCOT data, average wind generation is projected to rise from 10.4 GW on June 8 to 15.3 GW on June 9, a change of over 46%. This puts wind generation far higher than the month-to-date average of 8.9 GW, and even higher than the June 2019 average of 8 GW. However, wind generation is expected to stay lower than this level until June 12, which could mean higher spot electricity prices.