Toronto: Although average prices have been modest, the year 2009 is turning out to be a year of significant electricity price records. Both the highest and the lowest price since market opening have occurred in the first six months of 2009.
The highest-ever market price for electricity was $1,891.14 per MWh. This occurred on February 18, 2009. The lowest price ever was -$52.08, and it was reached on June 7, 2009. The average market price for the first half of the year was $32.96 per MWh, the lowest of such averages on record.
However, the relatively low average prices recorded in 2009 must be viewed in the context of the total consumer bill, which includes other charges, notably the Global Adjustment, which adds non-market charges to final bills. In 2009 the Global Adjustment rose to levels never before seen, offsetting in many respects the lower average prices.
“Any major increase in volatility or price extremes is usually a sign of something worth paying attention to,” says APPrO Executive Director Jake Brooks.
In addition, the year 2009 saw a major increase in the number of hours of negative pricing.
See “OPA anticipates rising prices,” IPPSO FACTO September 2009; “IESO anticipates using over-generation advisories,” IPPSO FACTO April 2009; and the editorial, “The decline of the price signal: Are low prices the problem or the solution?” IPPSO FACTO June 2009.