Midwest electricity market (MISO)

• The Midwest ISO coordinates power for the north-central United States
• The eastern part of the MISO region is heavily industrialized.
• The western section of th MISO region is more rural.
• There are several major trading locations in the region. among them Cinergy Hub is the most influential.
• From a climate perspective:
• The middle of the United States has cold winters and hot summers.
• The cold weather usually starts in December, but can arrive in early November and usually lasts through April.
• The summer months, July and August, are hot and humid, but the weather cools off quickly in September.
• Many of the power plants in the region, including a large number of marginal producers, are coal powered ==> Coal prices often dominate the price of power in the Midwest even in high demand periods. This is a unique feature of the area (In most of United States, the power price is set by natural-gas-fired plants).
• Power is often wheeled from the Midwest to adjacent regions when the price of natural gas spikes upward.
• Cool shoulder months (the spring and fall) in the Midwest ==> Power is often wheeled to southern states where hot weather is more common.
• Some hydroelectric power is available from the Great Lakes and Tennessee Valley areas. Depending on the time of the year, power may be imported from either of these two regions.