Pacific Northwest needs to keep generation at home to balance heat-driven demand

Highlights June CCDs average 1,268% higher than normal July hydro averaged 11.3 points lower year on year Mid-C averaging 202% higher than the August 2020 Mid-C wholesale power prices have remained elevated this summer, incentivizing generation to stay in the region to balance demand that has been driven up from the extensive heat blasting the area. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Spot prices started climbing in June as the heat picked up substantially, Jeff Richter, EnergyGPS principal, said Aug. 12 during a Pacific Northwest summer fundamentals webinar. Cooling-degree days across the Bonneville Power Administration footprint in June were 1,268% higher than normal, according to CustomWeather data. In July, CCDs were 66% higher than normal. “What’s happening is real,” Richter said. “We have this heat dome stuck over the Northwest. … With heat domes demand.” Related content: Prolonged heat, drought in California could […]

View full article at www.spglobal.com