Welcome to Grid Brief! Today we’re looking at power generation and power prices in America’s power markets, with news items where relevant.

What’s Keeping the Lights On?

Let’s start with a snapshot of generation nation-wide:

Natural gas and nuclear were the top generators in the country. Coal, wind, and solar fought it out for third place.

And here’s a map to orient you as we move through the market areas:

ISO-NE

Natural gas, nuclear, and coal were the biggest generators in New England. Total generation fell over the week.

Real-time prices remained relatively within keeping of day-ahead prices.

New England’s capacity auction saw a huge price increase.

“Capacity prices were significantly higher than last year’s auction returned,” reports Utility Dive. “The final results reflect a clearing price of $3.58 per kW-month across all zones and import interfaces, about a 38% increase over last year’s results.”

PJM

Natural gas, nuclear, and coal kept America’s largest power market humming.

Real-time and day ahead prices were well coupled until the end of the week when several price spikes rolled in.

PJM and three other ISOs published a proposal to improve natural gas and electricity sector coordination. “Electric reliability is increasingly reliant on the inter-relationship between the electric markets and well-functioning gas markets as well as the availability of adequate natural gas infrastructure,” reads the proposal.

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