Note: Real time hourly data is not available in the IESO public reports for October 24, HE 17 and has been excluded from the commentary and figures.
Day-Ahead and Real-Time Price Trends by Components and by Zone
Day-Ahead (DA) zonal prices in the last week were higher compared to the previous three weeks, while Real-Time (RT) zonal prices decreased. DA zonal prices ranged from $49/MWh (Niagara) to $73/MWh (Northwest), while RT zonal prices ranged between $50/MWh (Niagara) to $64/MWh (Northwest).
The DA and RT price by zone and by component for the past week is shown below.
Day-Ahead and Real-Time Prices
Last week, the average hourly day-ahead OZP was $59.88/MWh, while the real-time OZP was $57.28/MWh. There were 5 real-time hourly OZP spikes greater than $200/MWh. The highest real-time OZP observed was $457.66/MWh. The peak Ontario Demand last week was 17,191 MW (on October 23, HE 19). The Ontario demand on October 24 – when OZP hit its highest level – was 17,006 MW at HE 19.
OR Prices
Last week, there were few real-time Operating Reserve (OR) price spikes. The average weekly day-ahead 10S price was $10.28/MW, while it was $10.47/MW in real-time.
The highest day-ahead OR price was $121.61/MWh which occurred on October 23, HE 18. For reference, the coincident day-ahead energy price was $99.97/MWh.
Real-time OR prices exhibited less volatility compared to energy prices. The highest real-time OR price was $435.66/MWh, also at the same hour as the peak real-time OZP last week (October24, HE 19).
Zonal Prices and Congestion
Last week, congestion in day-ahead was observed in the Niagara, Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and West zones. The Northwest zone saw the most congestion with a high of $118.05/MWh (on October 22, HE 23). Congestion in the Southwest and West zones was nearly identical, with a low of about -$46/MWh (on October 21, HE 19). The Niagara zone saw negative congestion with a low of -$57.43/MWh (on October 20, HE 18). The Northeast zone observed minor positive congestion (i.e. up to about $5/MWh).
In the real-time, there were several hours of positive congestion for the Northwest zone with a high of $160.59/MWh (on October 24, HE 7). The Northeast zone saw a single hour of minor positive congestion.
The Niagara, Southwest, and West zones also observed real-time congestion. Similar to day-ahead, congestion in the Southwest and West zones was nearly identical. The Niagara zone saw several hours of negative congestion. All three zones reached a coincident low in congestion on October 21, HE 20. The congestion at this hour for the Niagara, Southwest, and West zones were -$88.54/MWh, -$77.44/MWh, and -$78.23/MWh respectively.
