Search
  • Mark NRG
    • Mar 31, 2019
    • 1 min read

King Coal Crown Still Slipping


 

Natural gas star performer in polar vortex 2019.

winter generator fuel mix
Source: PJM Interconnection


Natural gas captured one-third of the fuel mix at the peak of this year's winter weather, up 45% from polar vortex 2018. The role of coal may have been diminished by persistent low prices for NG, but coal retirements certainly limited fleet output. Oil trended unfashionably, too.


 

PJM markets for reserves sent out low price signals. According to PJM, that signals a flaw. Maybe low prices were the right ones. Since January 1, PJM issued 9 cold weather alerts, but not a single maximum generation alert. Guess there was plenty of gas in the tank, coal on the pile, wind in the sails, etc …

6 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Well, that was unexpected. The front-month October 2021 contract surged a massive 35 cents or +7.6% on Wednesday to settle at $4.91/MMBTU, after briefly topping $5.00/MMBTU intra-session. The close wa