Judging by forward trading, Electric Reliability Council of Texas power prices will likely average in triple digits into September, after a brutal July heat wave pushed real-time prices into quadruple digits and the US National Weather Service forecast high chances of above-normal temperatures through summer’s end. Another factor may be the possibility of dwindling wind output – not on average, but at any particular peak period. ERCOT North Hub August on-peak power hit a peak of about $277.85/MWh on June 7, likely in reaction to a heat wave then facing the ERCOT grid, but as ERCOT grid operators continued to maintain a conservative operations strategy – keeping more dispatchable capacity in reserves – August forwards dipped to about $175/MWh on June 30, according to Platts assessments. Another factor in forward traders’ confidence that August risk had diminished was likely falling natural gas prices. At the Houston Ship Channel, August […]