![]() |
Enron Mail |
Subject: Energy Market Report - 02/05/02 Energy Market Report Tuesday, February 5, 2002 *See attached pdf file. __________________________________________________________ Western Pre-Scheduled Firm Electricity Prices($/MWh) February 5, 2002 for February 6, 2002 Peak(Heavy) Low Change High Change NW/N. Rockies 19.75 0.75 20.75 0.50 Mid-Columbia 19.75 0.75 20.75 0.50 COB 22.00 0.25 23.50 0.75 N. California 24.25 0.25 26.25 1.50 Midway/Sylmar NA NA NA NA S. California 24.00 0.00 25.50 -0.50 Mead 24.00 0.50 24.75 -0.50 Palo Verde 22.50 -0.50 23.50 -0.75 Inland SW 22.50 -0.50 26.75 0.75 4-Corners 23.00 -0.25 23.25 -0.75 Central Rockies 19.00 0.00 22.50 -0.50 _______________________________________________________ Off-Peak(Light) Low Change High Change NW/N. Rockies 19.25 2.00 20.25 0.25 Mid-Columbia 19.25 2.00 20.25 0.25 COB 20.00 2.00 21.00 1.50 N. California 20.25 0.50 21.50 0.50 Midway/Sylmar NA NA NA NA S. California 20.00 1.50 22.95 1.70 Mead 19.50 1.50 21.00 1.00 Palo Verde 16.00 1.00 17.25 -0.25 Inland SW 16.00 1.00 21.00 1.00 4-Corners 17.00 1.00 19.00 0.50 Central Rockies 14.00 -0.50 17.00 -0.25 ________________________________________________________ Take the Money and Run Peak power prices for Wednesday delivery were mostly steady across the West on Tuesday, largely due to a stagnant spot gas market and near-normal temperatures. "Prices were trading in very narrow ranges at most of the hubs today, and that made for a lackluster session," complained one marketer. NYMEX Henry Hub contracts for the front months closed lower on Tuesday despite cold Northeast temperatures, likely due to more moderate forecasts for next week, and on some technical selling. March slipped 4.3 cents to close at 2.074$/mmBtu, while April shed 3.2 cents to end at 2.152$/mmBtu. Most 2003 and 2004 contracts finished up slightly. The EIA recently said that it expects U.S. natural gas inventories to end the first quarter at a record 1.46 tcf. The low point for U.S. gas stocks at the end of the winter heating season has averaged about 920 bcf over the past eight years. Weekly draws of 144 bcf would be needed over the nine remaining weeks of withdrawl season to lower inventories to a more normal 1.0 tcf. Not a likely scenario since draws for the nine-week period have averaged 63 bcf over the past five years. In other industry news, lawyers for Ken Lay have refused to accept a subpoena from a congressional committee requiring his appearance at public hearings. Mr. Lay's lawyers said they did not know their client's whereabouts and could not accept any subpoenas on his behalf. Peggy Peterson, a spokesperson for the House financial services committee said, "He [Lay's lawyer] tells us he does not know of Lay's whereabouts, which we find quite puzzling to say the least. Even if Lay is forced to appear by a subpoena, many parties believe he would likely plead the Fifth and not testify. Heavy load energy costs in the Northwest were steady to slightly higher than levels reported a day ago. Amid continuing cold overnight temperatures, light load goods traded slightly higher, and in a narrower range. Flow forecasts for Chief Joseph were little changed, coming in at 110 kcfs Wednesday and Thursday, 105 kcfs Friday, 75 kcfs Saturday, 60 kcfs Sunday, 115 kcfs Monday, and 110 kcfs next Tuesday. No news was good news on the unit front Tuesday, with no new significant outages reported. According to Weather Derivatives, heating demand in the region was forecast to average 115 percent of normal through February 12, with the greatest demand expected during the latter part of that period. With little news, close-to-normal temperatures, and steady spot gas prices at the SoCal border, day-ahead electricity prices edged up slightly in the Golden State on Tuesday. Heavy load transactions at NP15 went through from 24.25 up to 26.25$/MWh, with the bulk of deals done in the 24.25 to 24.75$/MWh range and the high end reached late. Light load goods maintained their recent strength, trading from 20.25 to 21.5$/MWh. NP15 balance-of-February saw action around 22.75 to 23.25$/MWh. "I think some traders had the March jitters, light and heavy firmed up some there today," commented one California player. SP15 off-peak saw the most strength on Tuesday, with deals going through as high as 22.95$/MWh for Wednesday delivery. There was little change in the generation landscape on Tuesday. Pittsburg #7 (682 MW) returned to service from a maintenance outage that began February 2. Alamitos #3 (320 MW) ramped up to 240 MW, on its way back from an outage that began January 26. Forecasts for Wednesday called for highs at southern load centers to reach the mid-60s, down slightly from Tuesday's levels, with overnight lows in the upper-40s. The state capital anticipated a high of 58 degrees and a low of 36 degrees. The most current six-to-ten from the NWS predicted normal temperatures from February 11 to 15. In the Southwest, peak power prices for Tuesday delivery were flat to slightly lower to a day ago as weather conditions in cities such as Phoenix were described as "beautiful, sunny, and in the 70s." Heavy load energy at Palo Verde ranged from 22.5 to 23.5$/MWh, with unconfirmed trades heard as high as 24$/MW. Mead commanded a premium to PV, but most of that energy was reportedly bound for the Golden State. In unit news, Coronado #1 (395 MW) returned to full power Tuesday, following tube leak repairs that began back on January 25. Meanwhile, Coronado #2 (385 MW) slipped into a planned maintenance outage slated to last until February 10. Weather Derivatives forecast heating demand in the desert region to average a mere 85 percent of normal through February 10, and the latest six-to-ten from the NWS was calling for mostly normal temperatures from February 11 through 15. Patrick O'Neill and Jessie Norris _________________________________________________________ Western Generating Unit Outages Current Begins Ends Reason CAISO units <250/6715 total NA NA planned/unplanned* Alamitos #5/480/gas 01-Feb-02 ? planned Alamitos #6/480/gas 20-Jan-02 ? planned Bridger #3/520/gas 04-Feb-02 07-Feb-02 repairs Bridger #4/520/gas 04-Feb-02 07-Feb-02 maintenance Colstrip #3/700/coal 11-Jan-02 10-Feb-02 repairs Coronado #2/385/coal 05-Feb-02 10-Feb-02 maintenance Encina #4/303/gas 12-Jan-02 ? unplanned Etiwanda #4/320/gas 21-Jan-02 ? planned Four Corners #5 09-Jan-02 14-Mar-02 maintenance Grand Coulee #19/600/hydro 10-Dec-01 March repairs Haynes #6/341/gas 07-Jan-02 ? planned Helms PGP #2/407/hydro 01-Oct-01 ? planned Hyatt/Thermalito/933/hydro 02-Oct-01 ? @665 MW, unplanned Moss Landing #7/739/gas 29-Dec-01 ? planned Navajo #2/750/coal 02-Feb-02 25-Feb-02 maintenance Ormond Beach #1/725/gas 28-Dec-01 ? planned Ormond Beach #2/750/gas 05-Oct-01 ? @350 MW, unplanned Pittsburg #6/317/gas 22-Nov-01 ? planned Scattergood #3/445/gas 22-Jan-02 ? maintenance Future Palo Verde #2/1270/nuclear 16-Mar-02 20-Apr-02 maintenance For unit owners refer to pdf version. *Indicates a change from previous EMR. ______________________________________________________________________ Eastern Markets Pre-Scheduled Firm Power Prices ($/MWh) February 5, 2002 for February 6, 2002 Peak (Heavy) in $/MWh Low Change High Change Into Cinergy 22.75 2.75 26.00 2.00 Western PJM 24.75 -0.15 25.75 0.45 Into Entergy 21.00 0.75 23.00 1.00 Into TVA 23.00 2.00 25.00 1.00 ERCOT 19.25 0.75 20.25 0.90 ___________________________________________________________ Amid cold temperature forecasts, particularly in SERC, peak power prices rose across the Eastern Interconnect on Tuesday. "It was good to see some strength in the dailies, however short-lived it may be," said one Cinergy player. Firmer prices were seen in Balance-of-February and the March/April contracts as well, despite another lackluster day in gas. NYMEX Henry Hub futures edged down again on Tuesday. March fell 4.3 cents to close at 2.074$/mmBtu, while April lost 3.2 cents to end at 2.152$/mmBtu. Amid much higher real-time prices, peak electricity prices edged up just slightly in the Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday. Western PJM goods for Wednesday delivery were bought and sold between 24.75 and 25.75$/MWh. Traders mostly expected prices to drop off with warmer forecasts for the end of the week. LMPs reached a lofty high of 115$/MWh early Tuesday morning, but averaged 35.09$/MWh through 15:00 EST. High temperatures were expected to warm into the mid-40s on Wednesday and continue there through Saturday. The latest six-to-ten called for above-normal temperatures from February 11 to 15. With unit outages and winter weather, heavy load energy costs made robust gains in the Midwest on Tuesday, to the delight of sellers. "People have really found their faith today. Balance-of-Feb was up over a buck and March/April surged a bit as well," crowed one trader. Into Cinergy edged up all day, trading between 22.75 and 26$/MWh, while Balance was heard from 21.1 to 21.35$/MWh and March/April saw action up to 21.25$/MWh. Power sellers were concerned with the higher transmission rates they were seeing from the newly operating MidwestISO on Tuesday. "I'm seeing a base rate of 4$/MWh, and if you add in ancillary costs of 50 cents and recovery of old costs at 2.5$/MWh, transmission is costing nearly 7$/MWh, compared to about 4$/MWh before. That's going to hamper movement in and out of Cinergy, and increase volatility in the market," predicted one in-the-know seller. In unit news, sources said Beaver Valley #2 (833 MW) has been off-line since February 4. Traders also said Cook #2 could be back as early as February 16, while the Rockport unit (1,300 MW) was expected to remain down into mid-March. High temperatures were predicted to warm slightly into the upper-30s for Wednesday, and the most current six-to-ten continued to forecast above-normal temperatures from February 11 to 15. Bullish weather conditions sent day-ahead electricity prices higher in the Southeast and Texas on Tuesday. "I saw some buyers today that have been out of the market for a while," commented one SERC player. Into TVA on-peak pieces traded from 23 to 25$/MWh, with off-peak pieces equally strong from 16 to 19$/MWh. Unlike northern hubs, Entergy dealers reported a weaker balance-of-the-month market on Tuesday. Wednesday forecasts called for well below-normal temperatures across SERC and Texas, with highs mostly in the mid-30s to mid-40s. The mercury was expected to climb into normal territory by Saturday and the up-to-date six-to-ten predicted above-normal temperatures from February 11 to 15. ___________________________________________________________ California ISO Congestion Index in $/MWh Path Peak Off-peak for 06-Feb-02 NW1 to NP15 0.00 0.00 NW3 to SP15 0.00 0.00 AZ3 to SP15 0.00 14.00 LC1 to SP15 0.00 0.00 SP15 to NP15 0.00 0.00 OTC Forward Peak Electricity Contracts in $/MWh Mid-C PV SP-15 Bid Ask Bid Ask Bid Ask BOM 18.50 19.50 21.50 22.50 23.25 24.25 March 15.50 17.00 21.00 22.00 22.25 23.25 April 15.75 17.25 22.00 23.00 22.25 23.25 May 15.00 16.50 23.50 24.50 NA NA Q2 '02 15.50 17.00 24.00 25.00 23.50 24.50 Q3 '02 28.50 30.00 37.50 38.50 36.50 37.50 Q4 '02 27.50 29.00 27.25 28.25 28.50 29.50 Q1 '03 27.25 28.75 NA NA 30.50 31.50 Cal '03 29.00 30.50 33.25 34.25 35.25 36.25 Represents the most recent bid/ask spread obtainable by the Energy Market Report. Alberta Power Pool Index (C$/MWh) Peak(14) Peak(16) Off-Peak Flat Change for 04-Feb-02 25.04 23.25 9.98 19.25 5.21 BPA's Offer for 02/07/02. Hours Amount NW delivered COB/NOB delivered 7-22 200MW Market Price* Market Price* 1-6,23,24 200MW Market Price* Market Price* *Market price will be determined at time of request. NYMEX Henry Hub Gas Futures in $/mmBtu Close Change Mar 2.074 -0.043 Apr 2.152 -0.032 Natural Gas Spot Prices in $/mmBtu Low High Sumas 1.92 1.97 So. Cal Border 2.14 2.19 San Juan 2.03 2.08 __________________________________________________________ Economic Insight, Inc. - 3004 SW First, Portland, Oregon 97201, Telephone (503) 222-2425, Internet e-mail emr@econ.com - Copyright, Economic Insight, Inc. 2002.
|