Texas Power Prices Surge 700% on a Chilly Morning in Dallas
- Demand topped forecasts, sending prices to 14-month high
- Wind flagged while fossil fuel plants closed for maintenance
Photographer: Eddie Seal/Bloomberg
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A chilly morning in Dallas combined with calm winds and idle power plants sent wholesale electricity prices in Texas to the highest level in more than a year.
Spot electricity at a northern hub in Texas surged about 700 percent to average $383.71 a megawatt-hour for the hour ended 8 a.m. local time, the most since January 2018, according to Genscape. It came as Dallas temperatures dipped to 42 degrees Fahrenheit (6 Celsius) early Monday. At the same time, power plants representing about 37 percent of the state’s generating capacity were shut for spring maintenance, according to Jeffrey Thibodeau, Genscape’s regional director for Texas.