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US Power Update: Prices Mostly Higher, 5 Regions Post $100-Plus Spikes

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US wholesale electricity prices were mostly higher Wednesday afternoon, with five regions seeing intraday price spikes above $100 per megawatt-hour, according to data from GridStatus.io.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas' real-time locational marginal price stood at $31.13/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load was 51.17 gigawatts, with natural gas making up the largest share of the generation mix at 45%.

California Independent System Operator's real-time LMP stood at $36.72/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load was 19.04 GW, with gas providing the largest share of the generation mix at 42%. Prices climbed to an intraday high of $105.97/MWh at 10 a.m. ET.

Southwest Power Pool's real-time LMP came in at $32.72/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load was 45.37 GW, with solar representing the largest share of the generation mix at 46%.

PJM Interconnection's real-time LMP was $73.17/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load reached 122.06 GW, while natural gas supplied the largest share of the generation mix at 42.7%. Prices rose to an intraday high of $271.12/MWh at 2:20 p.m. ET.

Midcontinent Independent System Operator's real-time LMP was $43.18/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 86.6 GW, with natural gas contributing the largest share of the generation mix at 33.3%. Prices reached an intraday high of $155.40/MWh at 2:35 p.m. ET.

New York Independent System Operator's real-time LMP came to $59.20/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load stood at 21.36 GW, while dual fuel held the largest share of the generation mix at 32.8%. Prices hit an intraday high of $283.69/MWh at 10:10 a.m. ET.

ISO New England's real-time LMP reached $139.12/MWh at 4 p.m. ET, also the intraday high. Net load was 14.47 GW, with natural gas accounting for the biggest portion of the generation mix at 52.4%.

Independent Electricity System Operator's real-time LMP was $37.54/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 16.87 GW at 3:55 p.m. ET, with nuclear supplying the largest share of the generation mix at 39.4%.

The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center forecasts above-normal temperatures across much of the western, southern, and eastern US from Sep. 17 to Sep. 23, with below-normal to near-normal readings across parts of the northern US.

Meanwhile, the US is expected to see record electricity consumption as data centers and manufacturing drive demand through 2027, according to the Energy Information Administration's September Short-Term Energy Outlook released Wednesday.

Sales are expected to increase nearly 2% to 4,135 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026 and another almost 2% to 4,211 billion kWh in 2027, according to STEO estimates.

Commercial electricity sales should grow 3.3% in 2026 and 2.7% in 2027, representing 63% and 56% of annual sales growth, while industrial sales should rise 1.6% and 2.6%, according to the EIA's STEO.

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