Wholesale U.S. Power Prices Lower, Less Volatile in 2020
Domestic wholesale electricity prices were lower and less volatile in 2020 versus 2019, though in the latter half of the year, prices did trend higher for western states, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Friday.
Prices in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market were 5% lower, while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) saw a 45% reduction through 2020, EIA data showed.
Wholesale prices in ERCOT averaged $22/MWh in 2020, versus $38/MWh in 2019.
“Average Texas electricity prices were lower this year primarily because prices were less volatile (had fewer price spikes) than last year,” researchers said.
A failure for state agencies to conduct integrated planning and miscalculating natural gas supplies contributed to California’s rolling power blackouts
Dive Brief:
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission (CEC) released their final root cause analysis report on Wednesday, outlining key factors that led the state to trigger rolling outages last summer.
The conclusion largely mirrored preliminary findings, reporting that an extreme heat wave caused by climate change led to excessive demand, while resource planning targets under a changing power supply have not kept up with supply-demand, and some market practices exacerbated the supply issues.
Renewables and storage advocates said the report is evidence California should be more aggressive in investing in long-term energy storage, to ensure power from intermittent resources such as solar can be available during peak hours.
Monterey Bay power plant now a record-breaking battery project to ward off blackouts
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A Vistra battery facility in Moss Landing (Monterey County) will store up to 300 megawatts of power.Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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The Vistra Zero plant can make the energy grid cleaner and stabilize it against blackoutsCarlos Avila Gonzalez / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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David Yeager, project manager for Vistra Zero, looks over the battery array in the old generator building at the Moss Landing Power Plant on Wednesday.Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Batteries can supplement the power grid in the evening, when production from solar farms decreases.Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
Market Settlements for PRSC and SESC entities
System Integration and Automation
“Participating in the WEIM will be a significant step toward achieving the goals of our Resource Diversification Policy.”, said Carol Ballantine, Director of Power Supply for Platte River. “We will expand regional collaboration in a way that benefits every customer in our owner communities.”
“We are proud to have Platte River as our new premier customer and value its trust in us”, said Khai Le, PCI Senior Vice President. “For a timely and seamless transition into WEIM, our experienced and dedicated team of experts plan for a multi-stage deployment that includes our ETRM platform, followed by the WEIM-specific functionality.”