Power prices across the U.S. saw a 4.81% uptick in October at $31.06/MWh on average, with the highest gains coming from Southwest Power Pool where the average price of spot power increased 32.32% from the year-ago level, followed by California ISO where the average price of spot power rose 28.61% from October 2019.

The Electric Reliability Council Of Texas Inc., the South region and PJM Interconnection all recorded double-digit declines in October power prices compared to prior-year levels but notched gains from September.

CAISO led the overall year-over-year increase in underlying gas prices at U.S. hubs serving power generators in October, with the ISO recording an 18.70% increase at an average of $3.309/MMBtu.

Demand shrank for all U.S. independent system operators in October, save CAISO which notched a 7.7% increase in average hourly load, and ERCOT which saw an uptick of 1.7% in average hourly load.

October peak load in CAISO was 43,058 MW, rising 29.8% from the peak observed in the same month in 2019.

CAISO's gas-fired generators' implied heat rates, or the efficiency rates at which the market cost of power equals the cost of burning fuel to produce electricity, increased 8.35% year over year in October.

Nationally averaged implied heat rates were 1.27% lower from October 2019 levels for gas-powered generators.

Market prices and included industry data are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change. For more detailed market data, including power and natural gas index prices, as well as forwards and futures, visit our Commodities pages.