Sharp declines in prices for natural gas helped push the average wholesale price for electricity in New England down nearly 60 percent last month over January 2014, according to ISO-New England, which oversees the region’s power grid.
In January, the average “real time” price of wholesale power was $65.59 per megawatt hour, 59.7 percent lower than a record-high average of $162.88 in January of last year, ISO said.
Meanwhile, ISO said the average price for natural gas also fell sharply, by 61 percent. Earlier this week, Eversource Energy (formerly Northeast Utilities), said it’s seeking a price cut for its natural gas customers that would save them, on average, $20 a month. Eversource, which supplies natural gas to much of Central Massachusetts, said the request must be approved by the state’s Department of Public Utilities.
In January 2014, consumers’ use of natural gas for heating pushed up demand for the fuel, resulting in pipeline constraints that drove natural gas prices to record highs. Those high fuel prices, in turn, pushed up wholesale power prices, ISO said. This year, despite a half-degree drop in the average New England temperature in January, peak demand for natural gas was down slightly, according to ISO.
