Alberta’s weighted average Power Pool Price for August is currently $80.48/MWh. Relative to July’s month end price of $147.84/MWh, this is a decrease of $67.36/MWh or 45.6%. Renewable generation, especially wind, has been a constant presence so far this month which has helped to suppress the Power Pool price. In contrast to the end of July, where we experienced numerous and consistent days of volatility, wind generation was minimal. Generators we saw offline last week have since been returned to service, including Sheerness 2 and Genesee 3, while others have experienced intermittent outages at Keephills 2, Battler River 4 & 5. Milder temperatures, relative to those experienced at the end of July, have also contributed to keeping volatility minimal for August so far.
The weighted average Hourly Ontario Energy Price (HOEP) is settling at 7.4¢/kWh so far for the month of August, representing a 1.3¢/kWh or 17.7% increase over last month’s settle. Despite this increase, natural gas-burning supply decreased by -4.1% (2175MW) over the course of this past week. Base-load generation, such as nuclear and hydro, both increased this past week by enhancing their output to an average of (4.3%; 10303MW, and 6.6%; 4279MW) respectively. Wind increased output this past week climbing (+56.9%; 1550MW). Whereas Solar and Biofuel decreased (-7.3%; -110MW, and -36.6%; -36MW, respectively). With the first Global Adjustment estimated at 4.9¢/kWh, August’s total market price is settling at 12.3¢/kWh as of today.
– Mark Ljuckanov, Energy Advisor / Ryan Cosgrove, Energy Data Analyst
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