By Amanda Durish Cook
MISO successfully managed an uneventful October that went from unseasonably warm to unusually chilly.
Demand peaked at 96.4 GW on Oct. 3 during an early month heat wave, while average load was 71.5 GW, up from 70 GW a year earlier. However, the average systemwide temperature was 3 degrees Fahrenheit lower than in October 2017. MISO did not call any maximum generation actions during the month.
Executive Director of Market Operations Shawn McFarlane told an Informational Forum on Nov. 15 that the month began with the RTO managing warmer-than-usual weather, though it quickly transitioned to cold weather. He remarked that it seemed like Indianapolis transitioned directly from winter to summer this year and said the inverse appeared to be happening for fall in the Midwest.
Energy prices in MISO averaged $30.67/MWh for the month, up 15% from October 2017’s average of $26.68. Day-ahead and real-time peaks averaged $38.58/MWh and $34.80/MWh, respectively, while off-peak averaged $27.54 and $26.62. The RTO said its natural gas prices increased 16% year over year to about $3.25/MMBtu.
In real time, the RTO on average dispatched a fuel mix consisting of 46.6% coal, 23.8% natural gas, 14.5% nuclear and 9.5% wind. The remainder came from dual-fuel units, solar, hydro and waste-to-energy. Wind output peaked at 14.6 GW, higher than last October’s peak of 14.1 GW.
