Aug 22, 2023 16:00:00

Electricity prices soar more than 60-fold in Texas, where temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius, spot electricity prices rise from an average of $75 to $4750 per megawatt-hour

As

NASA has designated July 2023 as the ``hottest month since 1880'' , extremely strong heat waves are being observed around the world in the summer of 2023. In the state of Texas in the United States, spot electricity prices on August 17, 2023 reached $4,750 per MWh (about 700,000 yen), about 60 times higher than the previous day, due to concerns about further temperature rises. has been reported.

Texas Power Prices Surge 6,000% Near $5,000; ERCOT Calls for Conservation - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-17/texas-power-prices-surge-6-000-as-grid-calls-for-conservation

Texas electricity prices soar 6,000 percent as a fresh heat wave is expected to shatter records – Spot electricity prices jumped to $4,750 per megawatt-hour from the average of $75 – Desdemona Despair

https://desdemonadespair.net/2023/08/texas-electricity-prices-soar-6000-percent-as-a-fresh-heat-wave-is-expected-to-shatter-records-spot-electricity-prices- jumped-to-4750-per-megawatt-hour-from-the-average-of-75.html

Data from

the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) show that the spot price of electricity in Texas jumped to about $4,750 per MWh at 3:45 p.m. It is said that it has surged more than 60 times from about 75 dollars (about 11000 yen).

The upper limit of the power price in Texas is $ 5,000 (about 730,000 yen) per MWh, and the power price as of 15:45 on August 17, 2023 is a price approaching that upper limit, and the spot price is the latest It was the highest amount in five weeks.

The reason for the sharp rise in electricity prices is that the sea surface temperature will rise due to

the El Niño phenomenon that began to develop in May 2023, and the record heat wave will occur in the summer of 2023. Because the volume is soaring.

As for the factors behind the sharp rise in spot power prices, Desdemona Despair, an overseas media outlet, predicted that Texas would hit 42 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded, from noon on August 18, 2023 to August 20, 2023. I guess it's because a record high temperature warning was announced .

According to ERCOT, the power demand on August 17, 2023 reached a record high of 85.5 gigawatts, but at the time of writing the article, the supply was higher than the power demand. However, if there is a sudden increase in power consumption, or after sunset when solar power generation is no longer possible, there is a risk that the power supply will be tight.

Below is a graph showing power demand and supply in Texas as of August 20, 2023. It can be confirmed that the amount of power demand and the amount of supply are close at around 20:00 after sunset.

Therefore, ERCOT is calling on households and businesses to conserve electricity between 15:00 and 20:00 in order to reduce the burden on power plants.