Market Monitor Blog
Your home for commercial electricity and natural gas market news—covering market factors like supply, demand, regulatory affairs, weather, and more.
Towers of Power: Gravity to the Rescue
A European start-up is developing commercial-scale energy vaults that are designed to rival battery storage techniques. The vaults use a crane to lift heavy bricks into a tower formation when there is excess power on the grid. When power is needed, the crane lowers bricks back down to the ground using… Read more
Natural Gas Seven on Seven
ERCOT's natural gas power burn surpassed 7 bcfd on August 7 according to Platts Analytics. If you're looking for a national comparison, it's Italy. Read more
Texas Makes Heat Wave History
Power demand in Texas set a record last week and real time prices soared to more than $9,000/MWh. Conditions prompted ERCOT to issue an emergency alert, calling on power plants to ramp up and asking end users to conserve. Read more
States Can't Shake the Bake
July temps for the U.S. L48 were 74.6°F, 1.0°F above the 20th century average, ranking in the upper third of the 125-year record. This tied with 1917 as the 27th warmest July for the contiguous United States. Read more
Risk Appetite: PJM Decrease, ERCOT Increase
Electricity buyers in PJM and ERCOT made the most significant moves this week. PJM buyers showed a 4% increase in fixed price solutions while ERCOT customers took the opposite slant and increased their interest in index/flex products by the same ratio week-over-week. Read more
Princeton Day School Addresses Environmental Stewardship with ENGIE Agreement
Princeton Day School and ENGIE Resources have announced a five-year energy agreement that provides the campus with budget certainty while also encouraging the development of renewable energy including wind farms and solar arrays. Read more
A Different Version of the Generation Mix
Nearly 100 children of ENGIE Resources employees attended a recent “Take Your Children to Work” day in Houston. Read more
Risk Appetite: NEPOOL Buyers Buck Trend
Electricity buyers in NEPOOL defied the trend this week as they increased their interest in index- and flex-type products. Customers in other markets took a conservative step back this week as they increased interest in fixed-price products in PJM, NYISO and ERCOT. Read more
NYISO Carbon Pricing Plan Could Challenge FERC
NYISO is preparing to ask FERC to approve a plan to put a price on CO2 emissions. The ISO would incorporate the social cost of carbon emissions into wholesale energy markets. Carbon pricing is positioned as a key component to help New York meet its 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 goal. Read more
The Answer IS Blowing in the Wind
The American Wind Energy Association reports that demand from utilities and the Fortune 500 have taken wind power capacity and development to record levels. Read more