((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
Spot prices for natural gas in central Waha, West Texas, turned negative for the second time this week, even as electricity demand was poised to break June’s record, households and businesses using their air conditioners to escape a brutal heatwave.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages most of the state’s power grid for 27 million customers, said the system was operating normally and there was enough supply to meet expected demand over the next week.
Gas prices for the next day in the center of Waha
NG-WAH-WTX-SNL plunged 604% to a negative $2.78 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for Friday, the lowest since mid-April, due to constraints related to pipelines that trap gas in the Permian shale.
This is the second time gas prices have fallen into negative territory during this week’s heat wave and the 19th time since the start of the year.
According to AccuWeather meteorologists, highs in Houston, the state’s largest city, will rise from 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius) on Friday to 99 degrees F on Monday, July 1, before dropping back to the mid-90s around the July 4 holiday.
While those temperatures are only slightly above the typical high of 93°F for this time of year, AccuWeather says that when humidity and other factors are taken into account, the feel-good temperature will be closer to 106°F on Friday and 109°F on July 1.
After breaking peak demand records multiple times in April and May, ERCOT forecast that electricity demand would rise from 80,069 megawatts (MW) on Thursday to 80,942 MW on Friday, surpassing the 2023 record of 80,787 MW set for June.
Energy traders noted that Friday’s demand could fall short of June’s record after actual electricity use on Thursday fell short of ERCOT’s () record forecast for that day.
ERCOT projects demand will reach 82,314 MW on July 1, 83,387 MW on July 2 and 83,540 MW on July 5, breaking the record of 83,047 MW set in 2023 for July 2 and 5.
The network’s historic peak was 85,508 MW on August 10, 2023.
Analysts expect ERCOT’s electricity consumption to hit this record this summer due to economic and population growth in Texas and increasing demand for energy from data centers that run artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining.
One megawatt can power 800 homes on a typical day, but only 250 on a hot Texas summer day.
