ERCOT pricing in check – yesterday real time pricing cleared $22.00 and $17.75 (give or take a bit) in the North Hub – we had significant congestion from the West Hub, where on peak pricing in the West cleared $3.75. These prices were much below the DAM on peak clears of $26.33 North Hub and $18.03 for the West Hub.
Today – bilateral price traded around $29.00 for the on peak and $22.75 for the off peak – nothing of significance traded on the power basis. All in all, daily heat rates are down since cash NG was much higher day over day.
ERCOT forward heat rates – lower moves on the Cals – driven by summer weakness. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the ‘Energy’ Category
Significant congestion from the West Hub
February 26th, 2013GRID Market Commentary
February 25th, 2013ERCOT has been relatively calm lately last week temperatures reached slightly above normal which created weak DAM and RT prices. We witnessed price volatility in real time when the wind forecast under-performed during the ramp hours and the Valley reached 85+ degrees with several units out…Today will be interesting with 25% of the grid’s supply coming from Good ‘Ol Reliable Wind.
Tomorrow, ERCOT load reaches 40 gigs in the morning – chilly morning ramp. Most of the state warms up to normals to slightly below normal – DFW mid to upper 50s over mid 30s. Day ahead bilaterals traded roughly $30.50 and $22.50, on and off-peak – North appears to be slight premium to all.
ERCOT forward Heat Rates down about .10 to .15 tics across the prompt cal – this move is mostly attributed to the dramatic move UP in NG – March looks to be coming in colder in ERCOT. Read the rest of this entry »
Arizona Settlement Would Allow Some Large Customers to Purchase Alternative Generation Supply
February 21st, 2013Feb 21, 2013
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A settlement in Arizona Public Service Company’s rate case would allow a capped number of large power users to elect alternative generation supply under a “buy through” mechanism (Docket E-01345A-11-0224).
The settlement was signed by APS, Arizona Corporation Commission Utilities Division Staff, the Residential Utility Consumer Office, Noble Americas Energy Solutions LLC, Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., Direct Energy, LLC, Shell Energy North America (US), L.P., AARP, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and other parties.
The stipulation would adopt Experimental Rate Schedule AG-1, a buy through rate for large commercial and industrial customers, for a period of four years, with participation capped at 200 MW. Under this rate, a third party Generation Service Provider selected by the customer would provide wholesale power to the APS on behalf of the customer. APS would serve and bill the customer, and remit payment for generation to the Generation Service Provider.
Reason to Hedge Retail Risk Now
February 5th, 2013As we discuss hedging risk, let’s remove the discussion of gas from the equation for a moment and just focus on the Heat Rate – or put another way, isolate the POWER component of the math formula (Heat Rate x Natural Gas = Fixed Price Power). Also let’s establish that Heat Rates are directly correlated to where Realtime LMP prices clear every 15 minutes. In August 2011, Realtime LMP prices blew out, and when they did, caused Summer Heat Rates all the way out the curve to jump up. Heat Rates settled down once folks decided it was just an anomaly, until around Feb 2012, when ERCOT and the PUCT started discussing the need for more power plants, that no one was building any, and suggesting that Aug 2011 might not have been an anomaly, but maybe just the beginning of more volatility to come. The PUCT pushed through higher LMP caps for the immediate Summer of 2012, and as we headed towards June, with heat looking strong in weather forecasts, Heat Rates hit all time new highs in ERCOT all the way out through summer 2017 (see chart).
Black Carbon
February 4th, 2013 New research suggests that black carbon, also known as soot, is the second biggest cause of global warming. A group of climate scientists recently published a study claiming that black carbon is almost just as bad for the planet as carbon dioxide. It is produced both naturally and by human activities as a result of the incomplete com¬bustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass. Primary sources include emissions from diesel engines, cook stoves, wood burning and forest fires. As you may already know, carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for decades and warms the climate at a slow pace. On the other hand, black carbon remains in the atmosphere for only a few weeks, so cutting its emissions would immediately reduce the rate of warming.
So what does this mean for home and business owners? By taking action now to reduce soot emissions, we’ll all be able to reap the benefits of a cleaner environment sooner. Entelrgy can help individuals reduce their carbon footprint not only through our green energy solutions, but also by purchasing energy efficient products online through our partners. Remember you can do their part to minimize the amount of carbon dioxide and black carbon from enter-ing the atmosphere as harmful greenhouse gases.
Source: http: http://www.c2es.org/publications/black-carbon-climate-change