There has been a great deal of news about the retirement of U.S. coal-fired power plants, a function of pending environmental compliance regulations that become effective April, 2015 (Mercury and Toxics Standards rule). Power companies are retiring the plants, citing that the costs of making the plants environmentally compliant are not justified. Power plant retirements are affecting the PJM grid.  Consequently, anticipated is an increased reliance on natural gas-fired generation to maintain electric supply reliability.  The polar vortex in January 2014 provided a glimpse into some of the issues tied to increased reliance on natural gas-fired generation. In fact, both wholesale power prices and electricity futures prices have been affected, […]

A combination of record-high space heating-related demand and unplanned generation outages, both a function of significantly below-normal temperatures throughout the U.S., contributed to a dramatic spike in hourly electricity prices within the PJM footprint in Jan. 2014. To put that in perspective, prices grew up to 300% from Dec. 13 to Jan. 14, depending on the utility zone within PJM service territory.  Below are a few links to articles / publications that explore these dynamics:  Polar Vortex Drives Record Winter Energy Use in PJM  PJM Grid Meets Month-long Challenges of Cold January